Dynamic Tests on Polyurea-Based Hybrid Composites for Ballistic Protection

Abstract In this paper, the combined effect of different weight percentages of silicon carbide (SiC) and graphite (Gr) reinforcement on the mechanical properties of polyamide (PA6) composite is studied. Test specimens of pure PA6, 85 wt% PA6+10 wt% SiC+5 wt% Gr and 85 wt% PA6+5 wt% SiC+10 wt% Gr are prepared using an injection molding machine. The tensile, impact, hardness, morphology and thermal properties of the injection molded composites were investigated. The obtained results showed that mechanical properties, such as tensile and impact strength and modulus of the PA6 composites, were significantly higher than the pure PA6, and hybridization with silicon carbide and graphite further enhanced the performance properties, as well as the thermal resistance of the composites. The tensile fracture morphology and the characterization of PA6 polymer composites were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic methods. SEM observation of the fracture surfaces showed the fine dispersion of SiC and Gr for strong interfacial adhesion between fibers and matrix. The individual and combined reinforcing effects of silicon carbide and graphite on the mechanical properties of PA6 hybrid composites were compared and interpreted in this study. Improved mechanical properties were observed by the addition of small amount of SiC and Gr concurrently reinforced with the pure PA6. Finally, thermogravimetric analysis showed that the heat resistance of the composites tended to increase with increasing silicon carbide and graphite content simultaneously.

This paper investigates the structure, length, and percentage of functional groups of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) depending on the time taken for functionalization in HNO3 and H2SO4 mixture. The carbon nanotube content and influence of functionalization time on mechanical properties of polymer composite materials based on epoxy matrix are studied. The extreme dependencies of mechanical properties of carbon nanotube functionalization time of polymer composites were established. The rise in tensile strength of obtained composites reaches 102% and elastic modulus reaches 227% as compared to that of unfilled polymer. The composites exhibited best mechanical properties by including carbon nanotube with 0.5 h functionalization time.

Electromagnetic (EM) waves, such as electronic noise and radio frequency interference can be regarded as an invisible electronic pollution which justifies a very active quest for effective electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials. Highly conductive materials of adequate thickness are the primary solutions to shield against EMI. Equipment cases and basic structure of space aircraft and launch vehicles have traditionally been made of aluminum, steel and other electrically conductive metals. However, in recent years composite materials have been used for electronic equipment manufacturing because of their lightweight, high strength, and ease of fabrication. Despite these benefits, composite materials are not as electrically conductive as traditional metals, especially in terms of electrical grounding purposes and shielding. Therefore, extra effort must be taken to resolve these shortcomings. The present work demonstrates a study on developing hybrid composites based on fiberglass with surface grown carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for EMI applications. The choice of fiberglass is primarily because it naturally possesses poor electrical conductivity, hence growing CNTs over glass fiber surface can significantly improve the conductivity. The fabrics were sputter-coated with a thin layer of SiO2 thermal barrier prior to growing of CNTs. The CNTs were grown on the surface of woven fiberglass fabrics utilizing a relatively low temperature technique. Raw fiberglass fabric, SiO2 coated fabric, and SiO2 coated fabric which was subjected to the identical heat treatment as the samples with CNTs were also prepared. Two-layers composite specimens based on different surface treated fiberglass fabrics were fabricated and their EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) was measured. The EMI SE of the hybrid CNT-fiberglass composites was shown to be 5–10 times of the reference samples. However, the tensile mechanical properties of the composites based on the different above mentioned fibers revealed significant degradation due to the elevated CNT growth temperature and the addition of coating layer and CNTs. To further probe the structure of the hybrid composites and the inter-connectivity of the CNTs from one interface to another, sets of 20-layers composites based on different surface treated fabrics were also fabricated and characterized.

The concept of microfibrillar composite (MFC) has been used to create a new type of polymer composites, in which the reinforcing microfibrils are loaded with carbon nanotubes (CNT). Polyamide 66 (PA66) has been melt blended with polypropylene in a twin screw extruder with and without CNT, and thereafter cold drawn to create a fibrillar state as well as to align the CNT in the PA66 microfibrils. The drawn bristles were compression moulded at 180°C to prepare MFC plates. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations indicate near perfect distribution of CNT in the reinforcing PA66 microfibrils. Although the fibrillated PA66 is able to improve the tensile stiffness and strength as expected from the MFC structure, the incorporation of CNT does not exhibit any further enhancing effect. It rather adversely affects the mechanical properties due to poor interface adhesion between the matrix and the reinforcing microfibrils with the presence of CNT, as demonstrated by SEM. However, the resulting highly aligned CNT within the MFC are expected to affect the physical and functional properties of these composites.

This paper describes the first steps in the area of prediction mechanical properties of nanotubes-plastic composites. Multi-level approach is used in order to take into account all the known data about all levels of composite material. Effective (macroscopic) mechanical properties are produced from solution of inverse boundary problem of continuum medium mechanics with coordinate-dependent elastic tensor. Theoretical results are compared with known experiment [1] on reinforcing polystyrene film.

In the present work, a combination of experimental and numerical procedure is proposed to study the effects of different hygrothermal conditions on the creep strain, viscoelastic properties of nanocomposites, and mechanical properties of such nanocomposite-based carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) hybrid composite materials. Ultrasonic probe sonicator is used to randomly disperse the multiwalled carbon nanotubes into an epoxy to minimize agglomerations. Dynamic mechanical analysis is employed to conduct the creep tests under different hygrothermal conditions of such nanocomposite samples. The Findley power law is used to obtain the long-term creep behavior of nanocomposite materials. Prony series is used to determine the viscoelastic properties of nanocomposite material in the frequency domain. Coefficient of moisture expansion (CME) is independent of moisture concentration; thus, CME of the nanocomposite is also determined. Strength of materials and Saravanos–Chamis micromechanics (SCM) have also been utilized to obtain the mechanical properties of such hybrid composite materials under different hygrothermal conditions. It has been found that the inclusion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in the nanocomposite and hybrid composites improves storage modulus and loss factor (i.e., tan δ) compared to the conventional CFRP-based composite materials under hygrothermal conditions.