Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 1211–1218 www.materialstoday.com/proceedings

PMME 2016

Review on metal matrix composites for marine applications

a b c d
C.Elanchezhian , B.Vijaya Ramnath , G.Ramakrishnan , K.N.Sripada Raghavendra ,
e f
Mithun Muralidharan , V.Kishore
a
Professor,Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai-600044, India
b
Professor, Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai-600044, India
c
Professor, Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai-600044, India
d
Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai-600044, India
e
Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai-600044, India
f
Sri Sairam Engineering College, Chennai-600044, India

Abstract

®
This paper reviews the possible Metal Matrix Composites of Grade 5 Titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) with Kevlar and carbon
fiber and their uses. These composites can be implemented in various industries like Marine industry as a hull material for
naval warships, in the aerospace industry, in the defence sector and for the fabrication of various structures that require high
strength and impact bearing capacity. Effective utilization of these materials in the above industries reduces the cost and size
of the materials while increasing the performance in terms of strength, corrosion resistance, weldability and fabricability
among other things. Due to the low density of the materials used, the performance of the vessels in terms of speed and
manoeuvrability is also bound to improve.Fabrication of the composites is to be done by sandwich panelling using isophthalic
resins. The various material properties of the composite such as hardness, modulus, chemical composition, adhesion and
morphology are to be analysed. The work deals with the comparison of the above mentioned composites with the
conventionally used shipbuilding materials. Thevarious results, on analysis, help us to infer the importance and efficacy of
such novel composites in this modern age of mechanical engineering. These composites give us the combined advantages of
strength and weightlessness coupled with the ability to resist corrosion thereby making it the perfect choice for various impact
resistant structures with particular consideration towards marine structures.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of International Conference on Processing of Materials, Minerals and
Energy (July 29th – 30th) 2016, Ongole, Andhra Pradesh, India.
®
Keywords:Titanium; Kevlar ; Carbon fiber; Sandwich Panelling; Hardness; Weldability; Corrosion resistance; marine structures;Metal
Matrix Composites

2214-7853© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection and Peer-review under responsibility of International Conference on Processing of Materials, Minerals and Energy (July 29th – 30th)
2016, Ongole, Andhra Pradesh, India.
1212 C. Elanchezhian / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 1211–1218

1. Introduction

This paper reviews the experimental analysis of various composites of Grade 5 Titanium with fibers like Kevlar®
and carbon fiber and their hybrid weave. A composite material can be defined as a material consisting of two or
more phases embedded in a continuous phase. The discontinuous phase is reinforcement and continuous phase is the
matrix. Materials form an integral part of the way composite structures perform. They are broadly categorized into
three types:
• Particulate
• Fiber Reinforcement
• Structural

In general, these composites are made of 3 parts comprising core, resin and reinforcement. Carbon, aramid fibers
and other specialty reinforcements are used in the marine field where structures are highly engineered for optimum
efficiency. Architecture and fabric finishes are also critical elements of correct reinforcement selection. Resins are
the bonding materials which are used to attach the core materials with reinforcements. They are of two types, viz.
Orthophthalic and Isophthalic of which the latter exhibits better mechanical resistance, chemical properties and
increased resistance to water permittivity. [9]

1.1. Structure

Metals possess much higher modulus than human hard tissues and ceramics are not only stiffer but also more
brittle than natural mineralized tissues. Polymers are typically more ductile but not stiff and strong enough to be
used to replace hard tissues in load-bearing applications. Emerge of composites allows researchers to design
materials that may attain combinations of mechanical properties similar to those of biological hard tissues [1].
Marino AA et al. studied the requirements for reinforcement and polymer materials to be used in
theseapplications are multi-fold. The first requirement for both constitutes is biocompatibility whichincludes that the
material and its additives are accepted by the surrounding tissue without toxic, inflammatory or allergic reaction.
Other requirements include fatigue resistance, resistance to ageing in biological media, dimensional stability, being
sterilizable by standard methods without losses of properties. Carbon fibre is the most widely used reinforcing
material and its good biocompatibility has been confirmed [2].Kevlar® is also a widely used fibre for high
performance impact resistance applications. They are used in many marine applications like hull materials of small
boats and also in the defence sector as impact resistant structures. It is predominantly used in body armour
applications and bullet proofing of vehicles used in the defence department and the vehicles of VIPs. E. Eisenbarth
et al analysed the effect of the material composition on the cell shape of the Titanium alloys. In order to determine
the cell shape, he defined the shape factor which was calculated from the area covered by the cells and from their
circumference. To determine the influence of the surface structure, substrate platelets of cp-titanium, TiAl6V4 and
TiTa30 were ground. Onto these specimens human gingival fibroblasts of the 5th to 7th passages were cultivated.
After a culture time of two days the cells were fixed and stained. The number of orientated cells was determined as a
function of the surface roughness of the substrate. The number of orientated cells was shown to increase —
independent of the material — with increasing roughness of the ground substrate [3].

2. Mechanical properties of Kevlar

Ming Cheng and Weinong Chen studied the mechanical properties of Kevlar and found that tensile stress-
strainresponse in the axial direction is linear and elastic until failure [4]. For a linear elastic, transversely isotropic
and homogeneous material, which is the case of the Kevlar KM2 fibers, the longitudinal shear modulus is given by,

G= πM [8(Do2–Di2) + 32/3 h2] lf2

d4
Where, ‘M’ – Mass of the Washer
‘Do’ and ‘Di’ – Outer and Inner diameters of the washer
 C. Elanchezhian / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 1211–1218 1213

‘h’ – Thickness of the

washer‘l’ – Length of the
fiber
‘f’ – Oscillation Frequency of the TorsionalPendulum
‘d’ – Diameter of the fiber

2.1 Bismaleimide Composites

T.K. Linet al. examined the Thermal properties of Bismaleimide composites/Kevlar–Fiber composites by
usingdifferential scanning calorimetry, thermo-gravimetry and thermo-mechanical analysis. Kelvlar 49®Fibers were
cleaned successively with 1,2- dichloroethane, methanol and deionized water and then vacuum-dried. Some of the
fibers served as `experimental'16 mm x 11 mm x 2 mm, with a span to thickness ratio of 5. The condition of the test
specimen and the test in an enclosed space was maintained at 23oC and 50% relative humidity. The specimen was
tested at a rate of cross-head movement 0.5 mm/min [5]. The inter-laminar shear strength, , for the short-beam test is
calculated by the expression ,
τ = 3p
4Bh

Where, ‘p’ – Maximum Load

‘B’ – Width of the specimen ‘h’
‘h’– Thickness of thespecimen

Gang Li et al. studied the Interface correlation and toughness matching of phosphoric acid functionalized
Kevlarfiber and epoxy matrix for filament winding composites. In this analysis, Kevlar fiber was functionalized with
phosphoric acid (PA) of different concentrations. The monofilament tensile strength was constant with less than 40
wt % PA functionalization. The amount of surface oxygen functional groups was maximal at 20 wt % PA-
functionalized Kevlar fiber, in which the surface roughness of functionalized fiber approached to that of as-received
fiber.The interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) were 76 and 79 MPa, respectively
and the Microstructure analysis shown in Fig. 1revealed that better interfacial adhesion resulted in higher
improvement of composite mechanical properties [6].

Fig.1. SEM images of split surface of Kevlar fiber composites of (a)

DGEBA/MeHHPA/as-received fiber, (b) DGEBA/MeHHPA/PA-functionalized fiber, (c)
DGEAC/DGEBF/DDM/ DETDA/PA-functionalized fiber.[6]

Sirui Fuet al. examined the combined effect of interfacial strength and fiber orientation on mechanical
performanceof short Kevlar fiber reinforced olefin block copolymer [7]. They showed that, pristine Kevlar fiber can
be used to reinforce OBC, significantly improved tensile yield strength and modulus can only be obtained by
introducing hydrolyzed or polydopamine-coated Kevlar® fiber using a small amount (3 wt.%) of MA-g-PP as the

reactive compatibilizer. It clearly indicates the key role of interfacial interaction between Kevlar fiber and OBC
matrix inimproving mechanical properties of the composites. It clearly demonstrated that, the mechanical
performance of the short Kevlar fiber reinforced OBC can be greatly improved by enhancing interfacial strength and
fiber orientation using green surface modification strategy and conventional melt-processing technology.
1214 C. Elanchezhian / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 1211–1218

C.Y. Yue et al. studied the Effects of heat treatment on the mechanical properties ofKevlar-29®Fibre. In
thisanalysis, The single-Kevlar® Fibre tensile test was used to evaluate the mechanical properties of Kevlar-29®
subjected to heat treatment at 100, 200 and 300oC for durations between 2 to 8 h. The dimension of Kevlar-
29®Fibres was thermally stable and did not vary with heat treatment. The Kevlar® Fibre tensile strengths and failure
strains decreased as the treatment temperature was increased [8].

3. Mechanical Properties of Ti-6Al-4V

Table.1: Mechanical Properties of Grade 5 Titanium Alloy [10-13]

Density 4.43 g/cc

Hardness, Brinell 334

Hardness, Knoop 363

Hardness, Rockwell C 36

Hardness, Vickers 349

Tensile Strength, Ultimate 950 MPa

Tensile Strength, Yield 880 MPa

Elongation at Break 14 %

Reduction of Area 36 %

Modulus of Elasticity 113.8 GPa

Compressive Yield Strength 970 MPa

Notched Tensile Strength 1450 MPa

Ultimate Bearing Strength 1860 MPa

Bearing Yield Strength 1480 MPa

Poisson's Ratio 0.342

Charpy Impact 17 J

Fatigue Strength 240 MPa

Fatigue Strength 510 MPa

Fracture Toughness 75 MPa-m½

Shear Modulus 44 GPa

Shear Strength 550 MPa

 C. Elanchezhian / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 1211–1218 1215

A.S.Oryshchenko et al. tested the properties of Titanium alloys in the ship building, which is shown in Table. 1.
In this Titanium ingotscontaining 5% Aluminum were used. These Titanium ingots were melted using spongy
Titanium with an ultimate Tensile Strength of 480 MPa. Also, Aluminum and Molybdenum equivalents were used
for determining the permissible content of alloying elements to predict the various properties. The governing
equation was given as,
[Mo]eq = [%Mo] + [%v]/1.4 + [%Nb]/3.3 + [%W]/2.0 + [%Cr]/0.6 + [%Fe]/0.6 [Al]eq = [&Al] + [%Sn]/3 + [%Zr]/6 + [%O]/0.1 + [%C]/0.085

The above equation shows that Aluminum equivalents is the sum of equivalent concentrations of α-stabilizers and
Molybdenum equivalents is the sum of equivalent concentrations of β-stabilizers[14].This analysis yielded agood
result for the implementation of Titanium alloys in marine applications.

J.G.Bakuckas et al. monitored the damage growth in Titanium Matrix composites using Acoustic Emission. Inthis,
the damage growth in TMC was studied using various optical techniques like long focal length, highmagnification
microscope. The Acoustic Emission technique was used to locate the damage growth in between the matrices [15].
The damage growth arrival times was given by the following mathematical equation [15],

X = l (t2 – t1)
(Δtgage)

Where, ‘X’ – Damage Growth

‘t1’ – Time of arrival at
sensor 1 ‘t2’– Time of arrival
at sensor 2
‘Δtgage’ - Difference in the arrival
time ‘l’- Distance between the AE
sensors

Jiaxu Wang C et al. investigated the Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) behaviours of titanium matrix composites
(TiB +TiC)/Ti–6Al–4Vincluding the micro-structural variables, the stress distribution and the RCF life. The
influence of reinforcements on stress distribution is studied using the analyses of subsurface stress distributions
based on an approximate numerical method, in which the reinforcement distributions are considered. The
results shown in Table 2 reveal that the existence of reinforcements causes RCF life reduction due to the stress
concentration in and around the reinforcements. [16]

Table.2: Elastic parameters of Ti–6Al–4V and reinforcements [17-20].

Materials Elastic modulus E (GPa) Poisson’s ratio m

Ti–6Al–4V 113.8 0.342
TiC 400–460 0.18–0.2
TiB 371–485 0.14–0.15

Yu-Chi Lin analysed the effect of different methods to add nitrogen to titanium alloys on the properties of
titaniumnitride clad layers. The Elastic parameters of Ti–6Al–4V and reinforcements are listed in above Table.
2[17-20].In his thesis, titanium nitride (TiN) reinforcements were synthesized in situ on the surface of Ti– 6Al–
4V substrates with gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process by different methods to add nitrogen, nitrogen gas
or TiN powder, to titanium alloys. The results showed that if nitrogen gas was added to titanium alloys, the TiN
phase would be formed. Also Dry Sliding Wear test was conducted which showed that, the wear performance of
the Ti–6Al–4V alloy specimen coated with TiN or TiN + TiNx clad layers were much better than that of the pure
Ti– 6Al–4V alloy specimen, which is shown in Table. 3[21].
1216 C. Elanchezhian / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 1211–1218

Table.3: Experimental elastic modulus and hardness values from the load–displacement curve of the Nano
indenter for four kinds of phases [21]

Phase Elastic modulus at max load (GPa) Hardness at max load (GPa)
TiN (Single phase) 227 18.16
TiN (In dual phases) 225 17.43
TiNx (Out dual phases) 194 12.42
- 159 8.18
Inter-dendritic areas (α’ Ti
MARTENSITIC
structure)

4. Mechanical Properties of Carbon Fiber

Isidor M. Djordjevi et al. studied the Non-linear elastic behaviour of carbon fibres of different structural
andmechanical characteristics of it. In their thesis, 5 types of poly-acrylonitrile, PAN, based carbon fibres, differing
in modulus, breaking strain and in crystallite orientation, have been studied. It was revealed that, It was found that
the value of the coefficient of non-linear elasticity of the fibre crystallite structures. It was also found that the value
of the coefficient of non-linear elasticity is lower in fibres of higher modulus and that it decreases with decreasing
interlayer spacing of the fibre crystallite structure and the width at maximum intensity of the 002 reflection on X-ray
diffractograms. Simultaneously, the apparent lateral dimension of the crystallites increases [22].

Zhishuang Daia et al. investigated about the effect of heat treatment on carbon fiber surface properties
andfibers/epoxy interfacial adhesion since, Carbon fiber surface properties are likely to change during the moulding
process of carbon fiber reinforced matrix composite, and these changes could affect the infiltration and adhesion
between carbon fiber and resin. In this experiment, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to detect the
activated carbon atoms, which are defined as the carbon atoms conjunction with oxygen and nitrogen. Surface
chemistry analysis showed that the content of activated carbon atoms on treated carbon fiber surface, especially
those connect with the hydroxyl decreased with the increasing heat treatment temperature. So, the solution provided
by Zhishuang Daia et all is that, in order to improve the performance of carbon fiber reinforced resin matrix
composite, the surface energy should be raised, the polar surface energy of carbon fiber and resin should be
modified to be closed. [23] Vijaya Ramnath et al [24, 25, 27] reviewed and investigated mechanical behaviour of
aluminium metal matrix composites and concluded that addition of reinforcement increases mechanical behaviour of
composites. Subramaniya Reddy et al [26] investigated of Mechanical Properties of Aluminium6061-Silicon
Carbide, Boron Carbide Metal Matrix Composite and found that if boron content increases the hardness of
composite also increases. Microstructure of PAN carbon fibers is shown in Fig.2 below.

Fig 2: Microstructure of PAN carbon fibers (Reproduced with permission from

International Union of Crystallography (http://journals.iucr.org/), © 1970
 C. Elanchezhian / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 1211–1218 1217

He also showed that, optimizing the carbon fiber microstructure can improve carbon fiber strength through
decreasing its flaw sensitivity. The carbon fiber microstructure is dependent on the precursor morphology and
processing conditions. So, the research in these two areas will aid in the development of carbon fibers with
improved performance. Many polymers, such as PE and lignin, have been evaluated as low cost carbon fiber
precursor materials. By doing this, it will pave way for low cost carbon fibers.

References

[1]. Y.Z. Wan a et al“Mechanical performance of hybrid bismaleimide composites reinforced with three-dimensional braided
carbon and Kevlar fabrics”, Composites Part A – 38, (2007), pp 495-504
[2]. Marino AA et al“Orthopaedic applications of carbon fibres”, IEEE Eng Med Biol Mag 1986;5:31–4.
[3]. E. Eisenbarth *, J. Meyle **, W. Nachtigall ***, J. Breme, “Influence of the surface structure of titanium materials on the
adhesion of fibroblasts”
[4]. Ming Cheng and Weinong Chen, “Mechanical Properties of Kevlar® KM2 Single Fiber”, Journal of Engineering
Materials and Technology, APRIL 2005, Vol. 127 pp 203
[5]. T.K. Linet al “The Effect of chemical treatment on reinforcement/matrix interaction in Kevlar-fiber/bismaleimide
composites”, Composites Science and Technology 60 (2000) pp 1873-1878
[6]. Gang Li a et al “Interface correlation and toughness matching of phosphoric acid functionalized Kevlar fiber and epoxy
matrix for filamentwinding composites”, Composites Science and Technology 68 (2008) 3208–3214
[7]. Sirui Fu et al “Combined effect of interfacial strength and fiber orientation on mechanical performance of short Kevlar
fiber reinforced olefin block copolymer”, CompositesScience and Technology 108 (2015) 23–31
[8]. C.Y. Yue et al “Effects of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of Kevlar-29 ®fibre”, Composites Science and
Technology 60 (2000) 421 –427
[9]. C.Elanchezhianet al “Review on uses of composites in shipbuilding”, Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 2016.
[10]. R. Boyer, G. Welsch, and E. W. Collings Materials Properties Handbook: Titanium Alloys,eds. ASM International,
Materials Park, OH, 1994.
[11]. Metals Handbook, Vol.2 - Properties and Selection: Nonferrous Alloys and Special-Purpose Materials, ASM
International 10th Ed. 1990.
[12]. Metals Handbook, Vol. 3, Properties and Selection: Stainless Steels, Tool Materials and Special-Purpose Metals, Ninth
Edition, ASM Handbook Committee, American Society for Metals, Materials Park, OH, 1980.
[13]. John M. (Tim) Holt, Structural Alloys Handbook, 1996 edition, Technical Ed; C. Y. Ho, Ed., CINDAS/Purdue
University, West
Lafayette, IN, 1996.
[14] A.S.Oryshchenko et al “Titanium Alloys for shipbuilding and nuclear power engineering”,2011
[15] J.G.Bakuckaset al“Monitoring Damage Growth in Titanium Matrix Composites using Acoustic Emission”,march 1993,
p.6
[16]. Lechun Xiea et al“Effect of reinforcements on rolling contact fatigue behaviors of titanium matrix composite (TiB +
TiC)/Ti–6Al–4V
[17]Török E et al“Young’s modulus of TiN, TiC, ZrN and HfN. Thin Solid Films” 1987;153:37–43.
[18] Gorsse S, Miracle D, “Mechanical properties of Ti–6Al–4V/TiB composites with randomly oriented and aligned TiB
reinforcements”.
Acta Mater 2003;51:2427–42.
[19] Panda K and Chandran K, “First principles determination of elastic constants and chemical bonding of titanium boride
(TiB) on the basis ofdensity functional theory”, Acta Mater 2006;54:1641–57.
[20]. Yu-Chi Lin et al “The effect of different methods to add nitrogen to titanium alloys on the properties of titanium nitride
clad layers” Materials and Design 54:222-229 · February 2014.
[21]. isidor m. djordjevi et al, “Non-linear elastic behaviour of carbon fibres of different structural and mechanical
characteristic”, J. Serb. Chem. Soc. 72 (5) 513–521 (2007).
1218 C. Elanchezhian / Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 1211–1218

[22]. Zhishuang Daia,b et al, “Effect of heat treatment on carbon fiber surface properties and fibers/epoxy interfacial
adhesion”, Applied Surface Science 257 (2011) 8457–8461.
[23]. Xiaosong Huang, “Fabrication and Properties of Carbon Fibers”. Materials 2009, 2, 2369-2403;
doi:10.3390/ma2042369.
[24] B.Vijaya Ramnath et al, “Aluminium metal matrix composites – a review”, Reviews on advanced material science,
Volume 38, Pages 55-60.
[25] B.Vijaya Ramnath et al,“Evaluation of MechanicalProperties of Aluminium Alloy-Alumina-Boron Carbide Metal Matrix
Composites”, Materials and design, Volume 58, June 2014, Pages 332-338.
[26] P.Subramaniya Reddy et al, “Investigation of Mechanical Properties of Aluminium6061-Silicon Carbide,Boron Carbide
Metal Matrix Composite “,Accepted for publication, Silicon, 2016.
[27] Siddique Ahmedet al, ‘Investigation of Tensile Property of Aluminium SiC Metal Matrix ’, International Journalof
applied mechanics and Materials, Volume 766-767, 2015, Pages 252-256.