See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/281107506

Elastic Properties of Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Article  in  Polymers and Polymer Composites · August 2015

DOI: 10.1177/096739111502300706

CITATIONS READS

2 4,312

4 authors:

Alireza Ashori Hossein Rahmani

Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology
146 PUBLICATIONS   4,464 CITATIONS    73 PUBLICATIONS   250 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

S. Heydar Mahmoudi Najafi Mahdi Golriz

Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology Iranian Space Research Center
11 PUBLICATIONS   94 CITATIONS    5 PUBLICATIONS   12 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

wood-polymer composites View project

Antibacterial activity of polypore fungi (basidiomycetes) isolated from northern Iran View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Alireza Ashori on 20 August 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Elastic Properties of Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Elastic Properties of Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Hossein Rahmani a, S. Heydar Mahmoudi Najafi a, Alireza Ashori a and Mahdi Golriz b
a
Department of Chemical Technologies, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Iran
b
Department of Polymer Processing, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, Tehran, Iran
Received: 12 July 2014, Accepted: 9 February 2015

SUMMARY
The aim of this work was to investigate the prediction of the elastic constants of carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy
laminated composites using a simple mathematical approach. For this purpose, a Matlab Calculation Code
(MCC) has been developed in MATLAB, which provides sufficient capabilities for analysis of the mechanical
behaviour of composite materials. The MATLAB code enables a variety of fibre orientation angles to be generated
and a wide variety of fibre volume fractions to be analyzed under mechanical loading. In order to validate the
accuracy of prediction results, a commercial grade epoxy resin (Araldite LY-5052) and unidirectional carbon fibre
(Torayca T700) were used to fabricate some samples of laminated composites with cross-ply configuration using
the hand lay-up method. Experimental results such as elastic modulus, tensile strength as well as elongation at
break were compared with the theoretical data extracted from MCC. The theoretical analysis were verified with
experimental results for the same type of composites. Although the values were different, excellent agreement
in the trends of the changes was found for the two approaches. Therefore, it was concluded that the MCC is
capable of predicting the elastic constants of laminated composites with a high level of confidence for a wide
range of fabricating conditions. The results also showed that the tensile properties of composites made with
3-layer were generally greater than those of the other evaluated composites. This kind of behaviour may be
explained by bondline defects, which adversely influence the mechanical properties.

Keywords: Laminated composite; Elastic constants; Unidirectional carbon fibre; Epoxy

1. INTRODUCTION
Carbon fibre-reinforced polymers
(CFRP), a relatively new class of
polymer composites, consist of
multiple layers of fibrous materials1.
CFRP materials are used widely in
packaging, electronics, automotive,
aerospace, and construction industries,
due to their advanced properties2,3.
They show high strength-to-weight
and stiffness-to-weight ratios4. These
composites have unique advantages
over monolithic materials, such as high
strength, high stiffness, long fatigue
life, low density, corrosion resistance,
wear resistance, and environmental
stability5. Laminated composites are
susceptible to mechanical damage
when subjected to tension, flexural,
*Corresponding author (A. Ashori). Tel./fax: +98 21 56 27 5191. E-mail address: ashori@irost.org
©
Smithers Information Ltd., 2015
and impact, which can lead to materials
failure1. However, the reasons limiting
their use in engineering practice are
the lack of reliable experimental
procedures for the determination
of mechanical characteristics of
reinforced composites, difficulties
in the mathematical modeling of
deformation processes and evaluation
of the load-carrying ability of reinforced
structures, and the need for new and
more economical manufacturing
t e c h n i q u e s 6. T h e m e c h a n i c a l
properties of CFRPs are determined
by the properties of the constituents,
structure of composites, mode of
interaction at matrix/fibre interfaces,
and manufacturing technique 7,8 .
Many mechanical parameters of the
composites can be determined from
known properties of constituents.
However, because of the high
sensitivity of some parameters (e.g.,
strength) to the effects of other factors
which cannot be fully accounted for, the
application of rigorous mathematical
solutions is not always possible. The
deformation and fracturing behaviour
of laminated fibre composites has
been described by many researchers in
the open literature9-12. Expressing the
mechanical parameters of a composite
in terms of characteristics of individual
constituents gives ample scope for the
design of materials with tailor-made
properties13.
The most commonly-used types
of CFRPs are biaxial, triaxial and
quadraxial fabrics, in which straight,
uncrimped yarns are aligned in the
warp (0º), bias (30º < θ <90º) and/
or weft (90º) directions to provide

Polymers & Polymer Composites, Vol. 23, No. 7, 2015 475

 Hossein Rahmani, S. Heydar Mahmoudi Najafi, Alireza Ashori and Mahdi Golriz

multidirectional in-plane properties. and 93%, respectively. The carbon fibre the moulds were coated with a release
In addition, a chopped fibre or fleece was used without any further treatment. agent to ensure that the fibres would
mat can be incorporated into the fabric, not adhere to the mould. Reinforcement
though their use is usually confined to fibres were cut and laid in the mould.
2.2 Preparation of Composites
the surface layer for providing a high Stacking sequences, formulations and
quality finish to a composite product14. The details of the composites the notations used for the respective
Unlike isotropic materials, the fracture preparation procedure have been composites prepared are presented
behaviour of orthotropic materials is reported elsewhere12. In short, the in Table 1 and Figure 2. The next
more complex. For example, fracture carbon fibre composite plates were fabrication process was vacuum
mechanisms in CFRPs for tensile produced by splashing epoxy resin bagging. The specimen was placed in a
load are fibre pull-out, fibre bridging, on each layer. The ratio of carbon plastic vacuum bag and sealed to isolate
matrix/fibre debonding, and matrix fibre to epoxy was 60:40 by weight it from the atmosphere. The sample
cracking. The variation of fibre for all experiments. Hand lay-up, as a was compacted by the vacuum, and
volume fraction, matrix properties and facile method, was used for composite the breather cloth collected the excess
production conditions of the composite preparation (Figure 1). Before lay-up, resin and removed the air bubbles and
affect this behaviour3.
Figure 1. Hand lay-up of the carbon fibres
This research work aims to examine
how the elastic constants of carbon
fibre reinforced epoxy composites
in hand lay-up fabrication can be
predicted by a simple mathematical
approach. In the experimental work,
angles of 0º, 35º, 45º and 90º were
selected as lamina configurations with
a symmetrical reinforcement pattern.
Then, a matrix calculation code (MCC)
was developed in MATLAB to estimate
the tensile properties as well as other
elastic parameters.

2. EXPERIMENTAL
2.1 Materials
Matrix materials were room-
temperature cured bisphenol-A-
based epoxy resin Araldite LY-5052
(a novolac epoxy containing 1,
Table 1. Compositions of the carbon fibre/epoxy composites
4-butanediol diglycidyl ether) and
aromatic amine hardener HY-5052 Sample Number of Fibre Thickness Grammage
(Huntsman Petrochemical Co.). A code laminates orientation (º) (mm) (g/cm2)
resin-to-hardener ratio of 100:38 by LY3/1 3 0,90,0 0.385 0.057
weight was used, as recommended by LY3/2 3 0,35,0 0.438 0.051
the supplier. LY3/3 3 90,45, 90 0.398 0.050
LY5/4 5 0,-35,0,+35,0 0.628 0.084
As reinforcement, unidirectional LY5/5 5 +35,-35,0,+35,-35 0.658 0.085
carbon fibre (Torayca T700S-12-k; LY5/6 5 +35,-35,0,-35,+35 0.678 0.084
Toray Co. Inc.) was used because it has
LY5/7 5 0, 90,0, 90,0 0.747 0.085
outstanding properties of light weight,
LY11/8 11 * 1.399 0.191
high strength and rigidity. The tensile
modulus and strength, as shown in the LY23/9 23 ** 2.907 0.398
data sheet, were 135 GPa and 2550 * 0,-35,+45,+90,-45,0,+45,+90,-45,+35,0
MPa, respectively. Its density, sizing **+45,-45,+45,-45,+45,-45,+45,+90,-45,+45,0,-45,+45,+90,-45,+45,0,-45,+45,-
and carbon content were 1.8 g/cm3, 1% 45,+45,-45,+45

476 Polymers & Polymer Composites, Vol. 23, No. 7, 2015

 Elastic Properties of Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

volatiles. Finally, the specimen was Figure 2. A 3-layer carbon fibre/epoxy laminated composite
placed in an autoclave at 60 ºC for 12 h
for an over curing process.

2.3 Tensile Properties

The tensile properties of the laminated
composites, such as strength and
modulus, were tested following ASTM
standard D 638 using universal testing
machine (Santam model STM-150,
Figure 3). Samples of dimensions
20 mm×200 mm were water-jet cut
from the panels parallel to the x-axial
direction and loaded to failure at a
speed rate of 5.0 mm/min. The load
cell used was 1000 N and the loading
span was 40 mm. For each composite
panel, three samples were tested and
an average value was reported.

Figure 3. Tensile testing machine

2.4 Mathematical Approach
2.4.1 Basic Equations
The greatest improvement in the
strength and stiffness of a plastic is
achieved when it is reinforced with
unidirectional continuous fibres. The
stress-strain relationships are used,
which render the analysis of such
systems relatively straightforward,
leading to the well-known equation:

E1 = E f V f + EmVm
(1)

where E1 represents the composite

modulus. It states that the modulus
of a unidirectional fibre composite is
proportional to the volume fractions
of the materials (Ef; volume fraction
of fibre and Em; volume fraction of
matrix) in the composite. This is known
as the rule-of-mixtures. It may also
be used to determine the density of
composite as well as other properties
such as the Poisson’s ratio, strength,
thermal and electrical conductivities
in the fibre direction. In practice, more
information may be required about the
behavioural characteristics of multi
angle/multi-layer composite laminates.
To obtain details of the stresses and
strains at various orientations in these
configurations, a more time-consuming
analysis is required.
2.4.2 Matrix Calculation Code
(MCC)
CFRP materials usually consist of
multiple thin layers of fibrous material to
form a laminate, and each thin layer may
have a different fibre orientation. Two
laminates may have the same number
of layers and fibre angles but they may
be different because of the arrangement
of the layers. We used a simplified
theory called classical lamination
theory to evaluate the influence of fibre
directions, stacking arrangements and
material properties on laminate and
structural response. Figure 4 shows
a global Cartesian coordinate system
and a general laminate consisting of N
layers. The whole laminate thickness
is denoted by H and the thickness of
an individual layer by h. Not all layers
necessarily have the same thickness, so
the thickness of the kth layer is denoted
by hk.

Polymers & Polymer Composites, Vol. 23, No. 7, 2015 477

 Hossein Rahmani, S. Heydar Mahmoudi Najafi, Alireza Ashori and Mahdi Golriz

Figure 4. Schematic illustration of laminates showing (a) a cross-section and (b) a studies gave some interesting results.
plan view15 The average values of tensile strengths
of 11- and 23-layer composites were
considerably lower than 3- and 5-ply. In
other words, the tensile strength seems
to be greatly affected by the number
of laminates. This kind of behaviour
may be explained by the increase in
bondline defects16.

Likewise, the tensile strengths of the

composites vary significantly with
fibre orientations. In the experimental
case, the composite type LY3/1
(using 0º,90º,0º) followed by LY5/4
(using 0º,-35º,0º,+35º,0º) showed the
highest tensile strength compared to
other studied composites, whereas
composite types LY3/3 and LY21/9
exhibited the lowest tensile strengths.
It can be concluded that the dominant
factor was the fibre orientation.

Results obtained from the tensile

modulus determinations indicated
that an increase in the number of
laminates has a tendency to decrease
the composite stiffness as exhibited in
The complete step-by-step mathematical calculation for analysis of stress-strain
Figure 5b. Comparison of the results
behaviour of laminate is available in literature15, so the final equation which is
shows that the tensile moduli of the
selected for future calculations is as follows:
composites made with 5-ply were
generally higher than those of other
evaluated composites. The composite
type LY5/4 has the highest flexural
strength, whereas composite types
LY3/3 and LY23/9 exhibit the lowest
(2) moduli. The maximum experimental
tensile modulus was 78 GPa for
2.4.3 MATLAB Functions
LY5/4 composite, while the minimum
The main MATLAB code, enables the calculation of the major elastic constant modulus of LY3/3 was approximately
for one to unlimited laminates. The input and output data involved in the MCC 6.7 GPa. In addition, the maximum and
are presented in Table 2. The code for a 5-ply composite with 35º,-35º,0º,-35º,35º minimum tensile moduli were observed
angle orientations and 60 wt% fraction of carbon fibre under load Fxy=[30 30 in the case of ±35º and 90º orientations,
15](MPa) was analyzed. Results of this sample are shown in Table 3. respectively. According to Rahmani
et al.17, the tensile modulus is mainly
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION dependent on the fibre orientations
and then the number of layers of the
3.1 Experimental Results laminated composites.
Figure 5a illustrates the experimental and theoretical results for tensile strengths
of various fabricated laminated composites. As can be clearly seen, the tensile 3.2 Theoretical Analysis
strengths of composites greatly varied with fibre orientations and number of Attention is now focused on the results
layers. The highest and the lowest tensile strengths were found for the 3-ply obtained by theoretical simulation. The
composites. The tensile strength increased from a minimum of 20 MPa for LY3/3 trends of theoretical tensile strengths
sample to a maximum of 1117 MPa for LY3/1 composite. The comparative and moduli of the composites were

478 Polymers & Polymer Composites, Vol. 23, No. 7, 2015

 Elastic Properties of Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Table 2. Input and output data Table 3. Elastic constants for carbon fibre/epoxy composites predicted by MCC
involved in the MCC Sample Ex Ey Gxy νxy
Input data code (GPa) (GPa) (GPa)
Title Sign LY3/1 99.17 58.21 4.18 0.08
Fibre volume fraction Vf LY3/2 67.4 17.73 11.34 0.47
Fibre modulus E1f LY3/3 11.1 98.29 11.04 0.08
Matrix modulus Em LY5/4 100.51 19.53 15.80 0.74
Fibre density df LY5/5 55.30 17.27 27.43 1.00
Matrix density dm LY5/6 55.30 17.27 27.43 1.00
Fibre strength Sf LY5/7 90.99 66.41 4.18 0.07
Matrix strength Sm LY11/8 61.89 45.47 21.43 0.42
Fibre shear modulus Gf LY23/9 32.04 32.04 33.31 0.61
Matrix shear modulus Gm
Fibre Poisson Nuf Figure 5. Comparison of experimental and theoretical tensile strengths (a) and
Matrix Poisson Num moduli (b) of laminated composites
Layer thickness th
Layer number n
Layer orientation angle phi
Load FFxy
Output data
Title (Composite-) Sign
density dc
modulus E
strength s
transvers modulus Et
shear modulus G12
Poisson Nu12
x- direction modulus Ex
y- direction modulus Ey
xy- direction shear Gxy
modulus
xy- Poisson Nuxy
yx- Poisson Nuyx
x-direction strain ex
y-direction strain ey
xy-direction strain exy

similar to those of the experimental
results; however, as expected, the
experimental results were lower than
theoretical results. The differences
could be due to the lay-up defects, which
were discussed earlier. According to
Katsiropoulos et al.16, with increase in
the number of laminates, the bondline
defects, e.g. voids, kissing bonds and
porosity are increased, which may
adversely influence the mechanical
performance of the bonded joints.
Khoramishad et al.18 reported that the
differences could be due to unbalanced
hand lay-up.
As it is evident from Figure 5b,
the tensile modulus did not show a
considerable increase with the increase
in the number of laminates in the
composite formulations. In addition,
with increasing number of layers from 1
to 2, significant effects were seen on the
elastic constants (Figure 6); however,
on further increase in the number of
layers up to 4, the improvement was
insignificant. Table 3 presents the
theoretical results for the fabricated
composites. These results clearly
show a close relation between the
moduli in the x and y directions and
uniformity of the properties in different
directions. Figure 7 shows the modulus
of each sample in x and y directions
and the absolute values. It is clearly
seen that with an increasing number

Polymers & Polymer Composites, Vol. 23, No. 7, 2015 479

 Hossein Rahmani, S. Heydar Mahmoudi Najafi, Alireza Ashori and Mahdi Golriz

Figure 6. Theoretical tensile moduli for (a) single layer (b) 2-ply and (c) 4-ply carbon/epoxy composites versus orientations
angles

Figure 7. Theoretical strain for (a) single layer (b) 2-ply and (c) 4-ply carbon/ of laminations, the homogeneity is
epoxy composites versus sample code improved. It can be concluded that
there is a balance for the properties
in different directions; however, from
the practical and economical points of
view, it is better to fabricate composites
using a smaller number of layers.

4. CONCLUSIONS
This study has focused on the response
of multi-directional laminated
carbon fibre/epoxy composites. A
simplified theoretical simulation for
observation of composite deformation
was performed using MATLAB
software. The main conclusions are
as following:

480 Polymers & Polymer Composites, Vol. 23, No. 7, 2015

 Elastic Properties of Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Epoxy Composites
a) The most important enhancing
parameters for the tensile properties
of the laminated composites were
the fibre orientations.
b) An interesting phenomenon was
observed, pertaining to the tensile
properties of the composites made
with 11- and 23-layer, which were
significantly lower than 3- and
5-layer composites. This may be
due to the hand lay-up defects
such as microvoids, porosity
and bondline defects, which
adversely influence the structural
performance of the bonded joints.
c) Both the tensile properties in the
direction parallel to the fibres
were higher than the perpendicular
alignment.
d) Regardless of the number of
laminates, comparison of the results
for fibre orientations showed that
the composites with ±35º had
superior properties compared to
other used orientations.
e) The greatest discrepancy between
theoretical and experimental data
occurred in the determination of
the tensile properties of laminated
composites as a result of hand lay-
up defects.
Polymers & Polymer Composites, Vol. 23, No. 7, 2015
View publication stats
f) From the theoretical simulations,
a similar trend between the model
and the experimental results was
found. This facilitates the process
of performing parametric studies.
g) Finally, the MCC can satisfy
the theoretical predictions and
manufacturing considerations.
REFERENCES
1. Shokrieh M.M., Daneshvar A. and
Akbari, S., Carbon 59 (2013) 255.
2. Shams S.S. and El-Hajjar, R.F.,
Composites Part A, 49 (2013) 148.
3. Kaman M.O., Eng. Fract. Mech., 78
(2011) 2521.
4. Yashir S. and Ogi, K., Composites
Part A, 40 (2009) 938.
5. Tserpes K.I. and Labeas G.N.,
Compos. Struct., 87 (2009) 358.
6. Dey B., Zhou Y., Jeelani S., Kumar
A. and Stephenson L.D., Mater. Lett.,
62 (2008) 3659.
7. Broughton W.R., Koukoulas T.,
Woolliams P., Williams J. and
Rahatekar S.S., Polym. Test., 32
(2013) 1290.
8. Zhang K., Gu Y., Li M. and Zhang
Z., Mater. Design, 54 (2014) 624.
9. Lee B. and Sankar B.V., Compos.
Sci. Technol., 66 (2006) 2491.
10. Quddos A., Khan M.B., Khan R.N.
and Ghauri M.K.K. Key Eng. Mater.,
510–511 (2012) 577.
11. Tehrani M., Boroujeni A.Y., Hartman
T.B., Haugh T.P., Case S.W. and Al-
Haik M.S., Compos. Sci. Technol., 75
(2013) 42.
12. Rahmani H., Mahmoudi Najafi S.H.,
Saffarzadeh-Matin S. and Ashori A.,
Polym. Eng. Sci., 54 (2014) 2676.
13. Kucher N.K., Zemtsov M.P. and
Zarazovskii M.N. Mech. Compos.
Mater., 42 (2006) 407.
14. Kong H., Mouritz A.P. and Paton R.
Compos. Struct., 66 (2004) 249.
15. Voyiadjis G.Z. and Kattan P.I.
Mechanics of composite materials
with MATLAB. Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg, 2005.
16. Katsiropoulos C.V., Pantelakis S.G.
and Meyer B.C. Theor. Appl. Fract.
Mech., 52 (2009) 122.
17. Rahmani H., Mahmoudi Najafi S.H.
and Ashori A. Reinf. Plast. Compos.,
33 (2014) 733.
18. Khoramishad H., Crocombe A.D.,
Katnam K.B. and Ashcroft I.A., Eng.
Fract. Mech., 78 (2011) 3212.
481