Mechanical Behaviour of Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer/Polyvinyl Chloride Foam Cored Sandwich Structures

This study focuses on the fabrication and analysis of the mechanical behaviour of unidirectional (UD) glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) facesheet and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam core sandwich structures fabricated by a vacuum-assisted resin infusion method (VARIM). These sandwich structures ar...

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Main Authors: Edwin Cheruiyot Kosgey, Krishnan Kanny, Festus Maina Mwangi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-01-01
Series:Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/5929170
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author Edwin Cheruiyot Kosgey
Krishnan Kanny
Festus Maina Mwangi
author_facet Edwin Cheruiyot Kosgey
Krishnan Kanny
Festus Maina Mwangi
author_sort Edwin Cheruiyot Kosgey
collection DOAJ
description This study focuses on the fabrication and analysis of the mechanical behaviour of unidirectional (UD) glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) facesheet and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam core sandwich structures fabricated by a vacuum-assisted resin infusion method (VARIM). These sandwich structures are commonly used in marine and wind turbine blade applications. To date, relatively little knowledge about the functional behaviour of UD GFRP compared to composites reinforced with bidirectional mats is available for day-to-day applications. The effects of the facesheet orientation, facesheet thickness, and core thickness on the mechanical behaviour of the specimens were examined. The UD fibres were oriented in cross-ply (0/90), angle-ply (+45/−45), and quasi-isotropic orientations. Various mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural, flatwise compression, and edgewise compression tests were examined. Characterization of the tensile properties of the facesheet showed that the cross-ply orientation had a higher strength than the angle-ply and quasi-isotropic orientations. The flexural load-carrying capacity of the cross-ply facesheet orientation was superior to the other orientations. The increase in the core thickness changed the flexural failure mode from face yield and core shear to core indentation. Flatwise compression (FWC) was tested to determine the core characteristics of the sandwich structure, and the peak loads of 4.90, 1.81, and 3.90 kN were obtained for 10-, 15-, and 20 mm core thicknesses, respectively. Edgewise compression (EWC) exhibited stable end crushing for thinner facesheet, whereas thicker facesheet showed core crushing and buckling. When the facesheet thickness was increased from 1.5 mm to 3 mm in the EWC, the buckling load increase ranged from 2.53% to 44.83% for core thicknesses 10-, 15-, and 20 mm, respectively.
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spelling doaj-art-3db30b65bebd4410ba45412dbf9ccc192025-08-20T02:16:39ZengWileyAdvances in Materials Science and Engineering1687-84422024-01-01202410.1155/2024/5929170Mechanical Behaviour of Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer/Polyvinyl Chloride Foam Cored Sandwich StructuresEdwin Cheruiyot Kosgey0Krishnan Kanny1Festus Maina Mwangi2Mechanical Engineering DepartmentMechanical Engineering DepartmentMechanical Engineering DepartmentThis study focuses on the fabrication and analysis of the mechanical behaviour of unidirectional (UD) glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) facesheet and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam core sandwich structures fabricated by a vacuum-assisted resin infusion method (VARIM). These sandwich structures are commonly used in marine and wind turbine blade applications. To date, relatively little knowledge about the functional behaviour of UD GFRP compared to composites reinforced with bidirectional mats is available for day-to-day applications. The effects of the facesheet orientation, facesheet thickness, and core thickness on the mechanical behaviour of the specimens were examined. The UD fibres were oriented in cross-ply (0/90), angle-ply (+45/−45), and quasi-isotropic orientations. Various mechanical properties such as tensile, flexural, flatwise compression, and edgewise compression tests were examined. Characterization of the tensile properties of the facesheet showed that the cross-ply orientation had a higher strength than the angle-ply and quasi-isotropic orientations. The flexural load-carrying capacity of the cross-ply facesheet orientation was superior to the other orientations. The increase in the core thickness changed the flexural failure mode from face yield and core shear to core indentation. Flatwise compression (FWC) was tested to determine the core characteristics of the sandwich structure, and the peak loads of 4.90, 1.81, and 3.90 kN were obtained for 10-, 15-, and 20 mm core thicknesses, respectively. Edgewise compression (EWC) exhibited stable end crushing for thinner facesheet, whereas thicker facesheet showed core crushing and buckling. When the facesheet thickness was increased from 1.5 mm to 3 mm in the EWC, the buckling load increase ranged from 2.53% to 44.83% for core thicknesses 10-, 15-, and 20 mm, respectively.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/5929170
spellingShingle Edwin Cheruiyot Kosgey
Krishnan Kanny
Festus Maina Mwangi
Mechanical Behaviour of Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer/Polyvinyl Chloride Foam Cored Sandwich Structures
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
title Mechanical Behaviour of Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer/Polyvinyl Chloride Foam Cored Sandwich Structures
title_full Mechanical Behaviour of Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer/Polyvinyl Chloride Foam Cored Sandwich Structures
title_fullStr Mechanical Behaviour of Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer/Polyvinyl Chloride Foam Cored Sandwich Structures
title_full_unstemmed Mechanical Behaviour of Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer/Polyvinyl Chloride Foam Cored Sandwich Structures
title_short Mechanical Behaviour of Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer/Polyvinyl Chloride Foam Cored Sandwich Structures
title_sort mechanical behaviour of glass fibre reinforced polymer polyvinyl chloride foam cored sandwich structures
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/5929170
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AT krishnankanny mechanicalbehaviourofglassfibrereinforcedpolymerpolyvinylchloridefoamcoredsandwichstructures
AT festusmainamwangi mechanicalbehaviourofglassfibrereinforcedpolymerpolyvinylchloridefoamcoredsandwichstructures