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Article
Development of Fiber-Reinforced Transparent Composites
Polymers and Polymer Composites
  • Robert Meinders
  • David Murphy
  • Gregory Taylor
  • K. Chandrashekhara, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Thomas P. Schuman, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract

In this study, a continuous glass fiber-reinforced composite is manufactured using the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. The composite is manufactured from an S-glass fiber acting as reinforcement and an epoxy resin as matrix. Unlike a traditional E-glass fiber reinforcement, S-glass fibers give higher stiffness and provide easier manufacturability due to the value of the refractive index of S-glass lying within the range of refractive indices of the epoxy resin. The epoxy resin is synthesized Epon 826, Epalloy 5200, and hexahydropthalic anhydride and tailored to match refractive indices of the S-glass fibers. After synthesis of the resin, composite panels are manufactured from the synthesized epoxy resin and S-glass fibers with a bi-directional [0°/90°] 8-harness satin weave. VARTM process was utilized to manufacture the composite panels. Composite panels are visually inspected for transparency, and tensile, flexural, and impact testing is performed. Mechanical tests showed consistent results for tensile modulus, tensile strength, flexural modulus, flexural strength, and impact damage resistance.

Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Second Department
Chemistry
Research Center/Lab(s)
Center for High Performance Computing Research
Second Research Center/Lab
Intelligent Systems Center
Keywords and Phrases
  • manufacturing,
  • S-glass,
  • testing,
  • Transparent composites,
  • VARTM
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2021 SAGE Publications , All rights reserved.
Publication Date
11-1-2021
Publication Date
01 Nov 2021
Citation Information
Robert Meinders, David Murphy, Gregory Taylor, K. Chandrashekhara, et al.. "Development of Fiber-Reinforced Transparent Composites" Polymers and Polymer Composites Vol. 29 Iss. 9 Supplemental (2021) p. S826 - 834 ISSN: 0967-3911; 1478-2391
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/k-chandrashekhara/374/