Introduction

2
Uses of Composites
Composite Banjo
Composite Guitar
Composite Piccolo
Composite Shoes
3
Uses of Composites
Composite Baseball
Bat from Miken
Sports
4
Reasons for Composites
5
Overview of Program
1. Basic Mechanics
2. Basics in Strength of Materials
3. Stress Strain Curves
4. Beam Theory
5. 3 Point Bending
6. Experimental Set-up of 3 Point Bending
7. Composites
8. Composite Material Cross - section
9. Types of Fiber & Resins
6
Overview of Program
10. Uses of Composites
11. Laminated Composites
12. Rule of Mixture
13. Composite Fabrication
Hand Lay-Up
Vacuum Bagging for Hand Lay-Up
Filament Winding
Pultrusion
14. Finite Element Analysis of Composite Laminate using NE
Nastran
15. References
7






Mechanics: Study of forces acting on a rigid body
a) Statics - branch of mechanics which considers the action
of forces in producing rest or equilibrium of a body.
b) Dynamics - branch of mechanics which treats of the
motion of bodies (kinematics) and the action of forces in
producing or changing their motion (kinetics).

Force: The capacity to do work or cause physical change.
Pressure: Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as
force per unit of area.

Basic Mechanics
8
Stress:
An applied force or system of forces that
tends to strain or deform a body.
Basic Strength of Materials
Strain:
A deformation produced by stress. Its the
ratio of difference in length to the actual length.
Strain is always dimensionless.
L
Strain
o
c = ,
2
or (Pa) Pascal - Units
,
m
N
A
P
Stress = o
Difference Length
Load Applied P
Area sectional Cross A
Length Initial L
=
=
=
=
o
9
Stress - Strain Curves
Engineering Stress Strain
Curve for Steel
Stress Strain Curve
for different metals
10
Stress - Strain Curves
Stress Strain Curve for Composites
11
Youngs Modulus:
The measure of the elastic force of any substance,
expressed by the ratio of a stress on a given unit of the
substance to the accompanying distortion, or strain. In other
words, its a ratio of stress to strain.




where is the stress, is the strain and E is a constant called
the Youngs Modulus. It is also known as Material Stiffness.
MPa
E
- Units
c
o
=
Basic Strength of Materials
12
Hookes Law:
We know that Hookes law is given by


where is the stress, is the strain and E is a constant called the
Youngs Modulus.

Poissons Ratio:
is the ratio of transverse contraction strain to longitudinal
extension strain in the direction of stretching force.

Basic Strength of Materials
E c o =
al longitudin
transverse
c
c
u =
u
13
Beam Theory
Beam:
A squared-off log or a large, oblong piece of timber, metal, or stone
used especially as a horizontal support in construction.
You can also calculate deflection for a standard beam from this website:
http://www.engineersedge.com/beam_defl_even.htm
P = Load applied on the
Beam
L = Length of the Beam
Simply supported beam loaded at center
y
I
M
Stress
EI
PL
f lection Maximum De
=
=
o ,
48
,
3
14
3 Point Bending


y I
M o
=
Basic equation in bending stresses in beams
4
) (
PL
moment M =
12
3
bh
I =
2
h
y =
We know,
We can find the stress using the above
equations.
Cross sectional view of beam
15
Experimental Set-up of 3 Point
Bending
The 3 point bending test of the composite laminate will be
conducted on the universal testing machine.
The displacement can be measured by the moving head and
the extensometer.
16
Composite Materials:
They can be defined as a material with two (or more)
distinct macroscopical phases. They consist of two or
more materials combined in such a way that the
individual materials are easily distinguishable. A
common example of a composite is a concrete.

Composites
17
Silver Copper Alloy
reinforced with Carbon
Fibers.
In Borsic fiber-reinforced
aluminum, the fibers are
composed of a thick layer of
boron deposited on a small
diameter tungsten filament.
Composite Material Cross-section
18
Uses of Composites
Graphite Snowboard
Composite Bicycle
Laminated
Fiberglass Bow
19
Uses of Composites
Dodge Viper
Front grill of an Automobile Different part of an airplane
20
Types of Fibers
Fiber Glass
Graphite Fiber
Kevlar Fiber
Kevlar/Carbon Hybrid
21
Types of Resins
Epoxy
Polyester
Vinyl Esters
Hardener Calculation:
Depending on the weight ratio of the resin & hardener, the amount
hardener for the required amount of resin is calculated using:

Resin of Amount x
Resin of Ratio Weight
Hardner of Ratio Weight
Hardner of Amount =
Calculations for the Amount of Resin required for the fibers will be
shown in the lab.
22
Laminated Composites
Laminated Composites:
Laminated composites can be thought of as sheets of
continuous fiber composites laminated such that each layer has the
fiber oriented in a given direction.
23
matrix. by surrounded
completely be longer no can fibers which the beyond 80%,
about is fraction volume Maximum The composite. the of stiffness
and strength the increases fibers of fraction lume greater vo A
. consituent each of fraction volume the are
... , composite in the s consituent each the of densities
the are .., , composite, the of density the is , where
. ..... . . .
: is form general The
ts. constituen individual the of properties the and amounts
relative e predict th accurately will Mixtures of Rule The
2 1
2 1
2 2 1 1
n
n c
n n i i c
f f f
f f f f

+ + + = =

Rules Of Mixture
24
f m
f f m m c
V V
f m
V V
=
+ =
1 Also,
fiber. and matrix the refer to and subscripts the where

: composite reinforced - fiber of density the predicts always
mixtures of rule the , composites laminated for the As

Rules Of Mixture
If we consider the fiber to be isotropic, the Rule of Mixtures can be
presented as:
f f m m
E V E V E + =
1
2 / / / 1 f f m m E V E V E + =
12 / ) 1 ( / / 1 m f f f G V G V G + =
where G
f
and G
m
are the fiber and matrix shear moduli.
25
Composite Fabrication
Types of Composite fabrication:
Wet Lay-up/Hand Lay-up
Filament Winding
Pultrusion
Resin Film Infusion (RFI)
Spray Lay-up
Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM)
Seemann Composites Resin Infusion Moulding
Process (SCRIMP)
Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding
(VARTM)
26
Hand Lay-up
Resins are impregnated by hand into fibres which are in the
form of woven, knitted, stitched or bonded fabrics. This is
usually accomplished by rollers or brushes, with an
increasing use of nip-roller type impregnators for forcing
resin into the fabrics by means of rotating rollers and a bath
of resin. Laminates are left to cure under standard
atmospheric conditions.
27
Vacuum Bagging for Hand Lay-up
This is basically an extension of the wet lay-up process
described above where pressure is applied to the laminate
once laid-up in order to improve its consolidation. This is
achieved by sealing a plastic film over the wet laid-up
laminate and onto the tool. The air under the bag is
extracted by a vacuum pump and thus up to one atmosphere
of pressure can be applied to the laminate to consolidate it.
28
Filament Winding
This process is primarily used for hollow, generally circular or
oval sectioned components, such as pipes and tanks. Fibre
tows are passed through a resin bath before being wound
onto a mandrel in a variety of orientations, controlled by the
fibre feeding mechanism, and rate of rotation of the mandrel.
29
Pultrusion
Fibres are pulled from a creel through a resin bath and then
on through a heated die. The die completes the impregnation
of the fibre, controls the resin content and cures the material
into its final shape as it passes through the die. This cured
profile is then automatically cut to length.
30
NE/Nastran v8.2
Steps:
1. Define the Material and its properties.
2. Draw the geometry of the model.
3. Mesh the model.
4. Apply the constraints and loads as required.
5. Analyze the model.
31
NE/Nastran v8.2
Example:
Surface Geometry: Plate of 12 x 3 x 1
In this example, Aluminum was taken to be the material for the
plate. The Properties of Aluminum is predefined in the Nastran
Software.
32
NE/Nastran v8.2
The plate is meshed and the the constraints and loads are applied
as described below.
Constraint: Plate fixed on left side.
Load: Force of 60lbs is applied on the other edge.
33
NE/Nastran v8.2
Final Analysis done on the plate.
34
Introduction to Composite Materials by
Stephen W. Tsai and H. Thomas Hahn
Mechanics Of Composite Materials by Robert
M. Jones
The Science and Engineering Of Materials By
Donald R. Askeland And Pradeep P. Phule
Peel, L.D., Jensen, D.W., Fabrication and
Mechanics of Fiber-Reinforced Elastomers,
Ph.D. dissertation at Brigham Young
University, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering,
Dec. 1998.

Reference
35
Dr. Larry D. Peel
Associate Professor

Vishwajit Grudge
Graduate Student

Dustin Grant
Undergraduate Student

Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Texas A & M University Kingsville