• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.84-91
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• 2017

Fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) is a typical plastic composite which is fabricated using fiber reinforcement with resin to represent the high strength properties. The mechanical properties of FRP should be determined by a fibrous material, and the studies about the role of fiber as a reinforcement has been an interested subject, whereas a study along the effect of filler is not so big. However, the filler effect must be considered on the properties of the composite, because the filler influence on the plastic or resin compound which reacts as a matrix material of the composite. Thus, in this work, we studied the filler effect with size and content using $3-6{\mu}m$ of ground calcium carbonate. The specimen was prepared by sheet molding compound (SMC) method, and the mechanical properties were compared with bending strength and tensile strength. As a result, it was confirmed that the size and contents of calcium carbonate affected the strength of composites, and the condition of $2.8{\mu}m$ which was the smallest size condition showed the highest strength.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.8-11
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• 2018

Sheet molding compound (SMC) is one of the most economical fiber reinforced composite fabrication processing for automotive applications. In this study, we studied the optimum formulation for the production of SMC which shows low specific gravity without lowering the mechanical properties by using glass bubble (GB) which is a low specific gravity filler and glass fiber (GF) as a reinforcing material. The tensile strength increased with the increase of the GF in the SMC, and the specific gravity decreased with the increase of the GB. The synergistic effect of improving the mechanical properties as the specific gravity is lowered is found in the optimum formulation. The synergy effect was confirmed by the internal structure analysis that the dispersion effect of the crack propagation of the GB and the improvement of the binding force between the fiber and the matrix due to the incorporation of the GB.