MechanicsofLaminated CompositeStructures

NachiketaTiwari IndianInstituteofTechnologyKanpur

Lecture4 Introduction

Matrix
Fibersandwhiskersincompositesareheldtogetherbyabinder knownasmatrix. Matrixservesseveralfunctions,theimportantonesbeing:
Transfersloadsandstresseswithinthecompositestructure. Support pp theoverallstructure Protectsthecompositefromincursionofexternalagentssuchas humidity,chemicals,etc.

Mostofthematrixmaterialsarerelativelylighter,morecompliant, andweakervisvisfibersandwhiskers. However,thecombinationoffibers/whiskersandmatrixcanbe However verystiff,verystrong,andyetverylight.

Thusmostofmoderncompositeshaveveryhighspecificstrengths,i.e. yhigh g strength/density g yratios. very Thismakesthemveryusefulinaerospaceapplications,whereweight minimizationisakeydesignconsiderations.

Matrix
Examplesofcommonlyusedmatrixmaterials.
Polyesterresin:Yellowishintint,itiscommonlyusedforlowtech applications.Itisinexpensive,andeasytohandle.ItissensitivetoUV anddegradesovertime.ThusitiscoatedforUVprotection.Its hardner isMEKP,i.e.MethyEthylKetonePeroxide. Vinylester resin:Ithasapurple/bluish/greenish / / tint.Itislesviscous, andmoretransparentthanpolyesterresin.Itisfuelresistant,but meltswhenitcomesincontactwithpetrol.Theresinisrelativelymore resistanttoUVvisvispolyesterresin,andisalsomoreflexible.It costsaboutthesameaspolyesterresin. Epoxy p yresin:Whencured, ,itisalmosttransparent. p Itisvery yfrequently q y usedasastructuralmaterialinaerospaceapplications. Ceramics:Theseareusedinvery yhigh g temperature p applications, pp and protectfibersinsideagainstoxidation.

Matrix
Examplesofcommonlyusedmatrixmaterials(contd.):
Shapememorypolymerresins:Theseresinsmaybeepoxy based(usedinautomotiveandoutdoorapplications), applications) cyanate esterbased(usedinspaceapplications),oracrylatebased (usedinlowtemperatureapplications).Thesehaveshape memory,andthustheycanbeshapedandreshapedrepeatedly without ith tsuffering ff i anymaterial t i ldegradation d d ti properties. ti These Th arealsousedinfabricationofshapememorycomposites. PEEK:Polyetheretherketone isathermoplasticmatrixmaterial whichretainsitsexcellentthermomechanicalpropertiesathigh temperatures(120C). Metals:Metalssuchasaluminum,magnesium,titaniumare usedinmetalmatrixcompositesasmatrixmaterials.Forhigh temperatureapplications,cobalt,andcobaltnickelalloysare used. d

MechanicalBehaviorofCompositeMaterials
Mostofthecompositematerialsareneither homogeneousnorisotropic.
Ahomogeneous h material t i lis i onewhere h properties ti are uniformthroughout,i.e.theydonotdependonpositionin body. Anisotropic materialisonewherepropertiesaredirection independent.

Compositesareinhomogeneous(orheterogeneous)as wellasnonisotropicmaterials.
Aninhomogeneous g ( (orheterogeneous) g )materialisone wherepropertiesofmaterialvaryfrompointtopoint. Anonisotropicmaterialisonewherematerialproperties depend p ondirection.Insuchmaterialsthemodulusmay y bedifferentinx,y,andz directions.

MechanicalBehaviorofCompositeMaterials
Anonisotropicmaterialmaybe:
Orthotropic:Here,thecompositehasthreemutually perpendicular di l planes l of fmaterial i lsymmetry.
Whenasampleispulledintensionalongeitherofthese planes,itproducesonlynormalstrains(tensileinpulling direction andcompressiveintransversedirections) direction, directions). Similarly,shearstresswhenappliedalongmaterial symmetryplaneswillgenerateonlyshearstrains. Incontrast, contrast anisotropicmaterialifuniformlypulledinany direction,willproduceonlynormalstrains.Further,sucha materialwhenexertedwithshearforcealonganyplane,will exhibitonlyshearstrains.

Anisotropic:Herethecompositehasnoplanesof materialsymmetry. y y
Hence,applicationoftensilestressonsuchmaterialswill producenormalaswellasshearstrains.

MechanicalBehaviorofCompositeMaterials

BasicTerminology
Mi Micromechanics h i :Study St d of fcomposite it materials t i l by b understandinginteractionbetweenconstituent materialsonamicroscopicscale.
Suchanapproachhelpsonetheoreticallycompute materialproperties,andfailuremechanismsof composites. Such hanapproach his i difficult diffi l tousefor f large l structures becauseofcomputationallimitations.

Macromechanics:Studyofcompositematerials presumedtobehomogeneous.Insuchanapproachof study,averaged(smeared)propertiesofcomposite materialareusedtoaccountfortheeffectsof constituentmaterials.

Suchanapproachworkswellforlargestructures. structures Predictionofstressesatmicrolevelisnotaccurate.

BasicTerminology
Lamina:Aflat(sometimescurvedaswell)sampleof unidirectional/wovenfibersheldtogetherbyamatrix.
Ifafiberbreaksinalaminaitisthematrix, matrix whichtransfersload fromonebrokenendtootherbrokenendofthefiberthrough shearforces. Pluraloflaminaislaminae. Alsoknownaslayer,andply.

Laminate:Alaminateisastackofseverallaminae oriented indifferentdirectionswhicharegluedtogether.

Theremaybesignificantshearstressespresentbetweentwo adjacentpliesduetothetendencyofeachlayertodeform independently. Thesestressesaremaximumatedgesofalaminate,andmay causedelamination atsuchlocations.

BasicTerminology

Problem
Findouttemperatureofamissilenose,asit reentersearth earths satmospherethrough literaturesurvey.Whatkindofmatrixand reinforcementmaterialsmaybeusedto protectthenosefromsuchhigh temperatures?