Fiber-reinforced laminated composite materials manufacturing

The manufactured 90 mm x 90 mm x 10 mm three-layered B4C/B4C-30wt%SiC tiles were tested as armor [67], The photographs of the experiment set-up of the ballistic test as well as a residual impression in the clay box that was used as one of the criteria in the ballistic performance of laminates are shown in Fig. 7.17. The ballistic penetration tests were performed to evaluate the ballistic performance of the laminates. Depth of penetration tests were used to evaluate the ballistic performance of the composite laminates. In addition, pure B4C monolithic ceramics were used as a standard for the test. Test panels were made using the three-layered B4C/B4C-SiC laminate and B4C monolithic ceramic material as the hard face. While the B4C monolithic tile had 100% of its theoretical density, the three-layered B4C/B4C-30wt%SiC laminates had about 3-4% of porosity. A commonly used Spectra fiber-reinforced polymer composite was used as backing plates. The targets were mounted on clay and the projectile was shot at the target at a specific velocity. 

In order to develop natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites, the primary focus should be given to the nature of the interface between the natural fiber and the polymer matrix. A fundamental understanding of fiber-fiber and fiber-matrix interface is critical to the design and manufacture of polymer composite materials because stress transfer between load-bearing fibers can occur at the fiber-fiber interface and fiber-matrix interface. In wood-polymer composite systems there are two interfaces that exist, one between the wood surface and the interphase and one between the polymer and interphase [1]. Therefore, failure in a composite or bonded laminate can occur as follows (i) adhesive failure in the wood-interphase interface, (ii) the interphase-polymer... 

Unlike most conventional materials, there is a very close relation between the manufacture of a composite material and its end use. The manufacture of the material is often actually part of the fabrication process for the structural element or even the complete structure. Thus, a complete description of the manufacturing process is not possible nor is it even desirable. The discussion of manufacturing of laminated fiber-reinforced composite materials is restricted in this section to how the fibers and matrix materials are assembled to make a lamina and how, subsequently, laminae are assembled and cured to make a laminate. 

Electrical Laminates. Printed wiring boards (PWB) or printed circuit boards (PCB) are used in all types of electronic equipment. In noncritical applications such as inexpensive consnmer electronics, these components are made from paper-reinforced phenolic, melamine, or polyester resins. For more critical applications such as high end consnmer electronics, computers, complex telecommunication equipment, etc, higher performance materials are required and epoxy resin based glass fiber laminates fnlfill the requirements at reasonable costs. This application constitntes the single largest volume of epoxies used in structural composites. In 2000, an estimated 200,000 MT of epoxy resins were used globally to manufacture PCB laminates. 

Reinforced plastics (RPs) or composites hold a special place in the design and manufacturing industry because they are quite simply unique materials. During the 1940s, reinforced plastics (or low-pressure laminates, as they were then commonly known) were easy to identify. The basic definition then, as now, is simply that of a plastic reinforced with either a fibrous or nonfibrous material. TSs such as polyester and epoxies and glass fiber dominated the field. 

Many artificial composites, especially those reinforced with fibers, are anisotropic, which means their properties vary with direction (the properties of isotropic materials are the same in every direction). This is a characteristic they share with a widely used natural fibrous composite, wood. As for wood, when structures made from artificial fibrous composites are required to carry load in more than one direction, they are typically used in laminated form. It is worth noting that the strength properties of some metals also vary with direction. This is typically related to the manufacturing process, such as rolling. 

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