Loughborough University
Browse

File(s) under permanent embargo

Reason: This item is currently closed access.

Magnetic-assisted alignment of reinforcing functionalized-fibers in a composite for lightweight structures

conference contribution
posted on 2019-03-01, 10:54 authored by Carmen TorresCarmen Torres, Maryam Haghighi Abyaneh, Paul ConwayPaul Conway
Localized reinforcement of composites employed to manufacture parts for the transport industries is making possible the lightweighting of components that have a much sought-after effect in the reduction of CO2 and NOx emissions. However, its realization, through the removing of mass where it is not required and reinforcement added to areas more prone to stress from working loads, relies on the development of novel manufacturing processes that can create structures whose performance is on a par with their solid counterparts, but at a fraction of the weight and at an affordable production cost. In this work we exploit the use of a very weak and safe magnetic field to control the location and orientation of functionalized discontinuous carbon fibers within a polymeric structural (polyurethane) foam to create performance-optimized composites. Two wet-chemistry methods (i.e. in-situ precipitation-deposition and amine-co-adjuvated electrodeposition of magnetite) to transform commercial carbon fiber into a magnetically active form were explored. The resulting fibers were analyzed and characterized through a set of physico-chemical tests. The functionalized fibers were then embedded at 3 different %vol contents in the polymeric matrix at given locations and with a desired alignment. Their mechanical performance (incl. compression, tension) was assessed and benchmarked against both a similar %volumetric content but non-functionalized-reinforcement (i.e. randomly distributed) composites and to non-reinforced matrices. In the two sets of reinforced composites (random and aligned) there is a positive correlation between stiffness, yield strength and strain with increasing %vol content. Both sets outperformed the non-reinforced matrix, demonstrating good fiber adhesion within the matrix and successful load transfer from matrix to fiber. The magnetically aligned composites generally outperformed the non-functionalized ones in terms of stiffness and strength at yield.

Funding

This work was supported by Innovate UK and FAR UK, project no. 132762. CTS and PPC are also grateful to the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Embedded Intelligence under Grant Reference EP/L014998/1 for the funding provided.

History

School

  • Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering

Published in

Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS 2018)

Citation

TORRES-SANCHEZ, C., HAGHIGHI ABYANEH, M. and CONWAY, P.P., 2018. Magnetic-assisted alignment of reinforcing functionalized-fibers in a composite for lightweight structures. IN: Proceedings of the ASME 2018 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS 2018), Volume 1: Development and Characterization of Multifunctional Materials; Modeling, Simulation, and Control of Adaptive Systems; Integrated System Design and Implementation, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 10-12 September 2018, Paper No. SMASIS2018-7911, pp. V001T01A001.

Publisher

© ASME

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publisher statement

This work is made available according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence. Full details of this licence are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Acceptance date

2018-06-22

Publication date

2018

Notes

This conference paper is closed access.

ISBN

9780791851944

Language

  • en

Location

San Antonio, Texas

Usage metrics

    Loughborough Publications

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC