• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
• /
• v.7 no.1 s.18
• /
• pp.28-32
• /
• 2003

In order to apply the properties of fiber reinforced plastic(FRP) to support panel of polyurethane foam in LNG storage tank, we estimated the mechanical properties, degree of vapour barrier, chemical stability and thermal conductivity changes as ageing. According to the results, the mechanical strength (i.g. compressive strength, bending strength, tensile strength and shear strength) are more than 30 times higher than those of plywood. The FRP-polyurethane foam(PUF) composites have lower thermal conductivity changes as ageing than plywood-PUF composites. FRP-PUF sandwich composite for LNG storage tank with these remarkable properties are compared the abilities of these structures with those of the conventional structures(plywood-PUF sandwich composite). Finally, we can obtain the effects such as superior mechanical properties and fuel saving through improved ability of vapor barrier.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.33 no.6
• /
• pp.547-555
• /
• 2019

The purpose of this study was to establish a numerical model of polyurethane foam (PUF) to simulate the dynamic response and strength of membrane-type Liquefied natural gas (LNG) Cargo containment system (CCS) under the impact load. To do this, initially, the visco-plastic behavior of PUF was characterized by testing the response of the PUF to the impact loads with various strain rates as well as PUF densities at room temperature and at cryogenic conditions. A PUF material model was established using the test results of the material and the FE analysis. To verify the validation of the established material model, simulations were performed for experimental applications, e.g., the dry drop test, and the results of FEA were compared to the experimental results. Based on this comparison, it was found that the dynamic response of PUF in dry drop tests, such as the reaction force and fracture behaviors, could be simulated successfully by the material model proposed in this study.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.122-127
• /
• 2018

Sandwich composites of carbon fiber reinforced plastic(CFRP) and polymer foam will be used to automobile and aerospace industry according to increasing importance of light weight. In this study, mechanical and heat resistance properties of sandwich composites were compared with type of polymer foam (polyethylene terephthalate(PET), polyvinylchloride(PVC), epoxy and polyurethane). All types of polymer foams were degraded to 30, 60, 120, 180 minutes in $180^{\circ}C$. After heat degradation, the polymer foams were observed using optical microscope and compressive test was performed using universal testing machine(UTM). Epoxy foam had the highest compressive property to 2.6 MPa and after thermal degradation, the mechanical property and structure of foam were less changed than others. Epoxy foam had better mechanical properties than other polymer foams under high temperature. Because the epoxy foam was post cured under high temperature. As the results, Epoxy foam was optimal materials to apply to structures that thermal energy was loaded constantly.

• Computers and Concrete
• /
• v.14 no.6
• /
• pp.767-783
• /
• 2014

The use of composite materials to strengthen reinforced concrete (RC) structures against blast terror has great interests from engineering experts in structural retrofitting. The composite materials used in this study are rigid polyurethane foam (RPF) and aluminum foam (ALF). The aim of this study is to use the RPF and the ALF to strengthen the RC panels under blast load. The RC panel is considered to study the RPF and the ALF as structural retrofitting. Field blast test is conducted. The finite element analysis (FEA) is also used to model the RC panel under shock wave. The RC panel performance is studied based on detonating different TNT explosive charges. There is a good agreement between the results obtained by both the field blast test and the proposed numerical model. The composite materials improve the RC panel performance under the blast wave propagation.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
• /
• 2006.04a
• /
• pp.906-913
• /
• 2006

The failure mechanism of a hollow bridge deck which is made of glass fiber reinforced polymer(GFRP) is investigated using both experiments and analysis. While the load-displacement behavior of the deck in the transverse direction shows a strong nonlinearity even in its initial response with relatively small magnitude of loads. In order to imporve the structural behavior of the deck in the transverse direction, we suggested that the empty space of the bridge deck is filled with a foam and investigated experimentally the static behavior of the orthotropic bridge deck which is made from GFRP and polyurethane foam. It is found that although the elastic modulus of the foam compared to that of the GFRP is about the order of $10^{-3}$, the structural behaviors in the weak axis such as nominal strength, stiffness, etc. are greatly improved. Owing to the low mass density of the foam used in this study, the bridge deck is still light enough with the improved structural properties.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.133-148
• /
• 2019

This paper reports on the energy absorption characteristics of a lattice-web reinforced composite sandwich cylinder (LRCSC) which is composed of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) face sheets, GFRP lattice webs, polyurethane (PU) foam and ceramsite filler. Quasi-static compression experiments on the LRCSC manufactured by a vacuum assisted resin infusion process (VARIP) were performed to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed cylinders. Compared with the cylinders without lattice webs, a maximum increase in the ultimate elastic load of the lattice-web reinforced cylinders of approximately 928% can be obtained. Moreover, due to the use of ceramsite filler, the energy absorption was increased by 662%. Several numerical simulations using ANSYS/LS-DYNA were conducted to parametrically investigate the effects of the number of longitudinal lattice webs, the number of transverse lattice webs, and the thickness of the transverse lattice web and GFRP face sheet. The effectiveness and feasibility of the numerical model were verified by a series of experimental results. The numerical results demonstrated that a larger number of thicker transverse lattice webs can significantly enhance the ultimate elastic load and initial stiffness. Moreover, the ultimate elastic load and initial stiffness were hardly affected by the number of longitudinal lattice webs.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2006.10a
• /
• pp.373-373
• /
• 2006

Rigid polyurethane foams(PUFs) are widely used in most areas of insulations such as storage tank and pipe line for transporting liquefied gas. Glass fiber and nanoclay are used for improvement in mechanical property and thermal insulation of rigid PUF at very low temperature(<$-150^{\circ}C$). These rigid PUFs have been characterized in terms of thermal, mechanical, dynamic mechanical properties and cell morphology. It was found that mechanical properties, thermal conductivity and dimensional stability of rigid PU foams were improved by glass fiber and nanoclay.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.217-231
• /
• 2022

Reinforced polyurethane foam (R-PUF), a material for liquefied natural gas cargo containment systems, is expected to have different mechanical properties depending on its stacking position of foaming as the glass fiber reinforcement of R-PUF sinks inside R-PUF under the influence of gravity. In addition, since R-PUF is not a homogeneous material, it is also expected that the coordinate direction within this material has a great correlation with the mechanical properties. So, this study was conducted to confirm this correlation with the one between the mechanical properties and the stacking position. In particular, in this study, R-PUF of 3 different densities (130, 170, and 210 kg/m³) was used, and tensile, compression, and shear tests of this material were performed under 5 temperatures. As a result of the tests, it was confirmed that the strength and modulus of elasticity of the material increased as the temperature decreased. Specifically, the strength and modulus of elasticity in the Z direction, which was the lamination direction, tended to be lower than those in the other directions. Finally, the strength and elastic modulus of different specimens of the material found at the bottom of their lamination compared to the specimens with these properties found at positions other than their lamination bottom were evaluated. Further analysis confirmed that as the temperature decreased, hardening of R-PUF occurred, indicating that the strength and modulus of elasticity increased. On the other hand, as the density of R-PUF increased, a sharp increase in strength and elastic modulus of R-PUF was observed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.26 no.6A
• /
• pp.943-953
• /
• 2006

We investigated experimentally the static behavior of an orthotropic bridge deck which is made from glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) and polyurethane foam. The bridge deck consists of many unit cells with rectangular holes which are filled with the foam to improve its structural behavior in its weak axis. It is found that although the elastic modulus of the foam compared to that of the GFRP is about the order of, the structural behaviors in the weak axis such as nominal strength, stiffness, etc. are greatly improved. Owing to the low mass density of the foam used in this study, the bridge deck is still light enough with the improved structural properties. Webs of the cells filled with the foam did not significantly contribute to the strength development of the deck. However, the propagation of a crack initiated in a cell is caught by the webs and limited to the inside of that cell only, which makes the load-displacement behavior of the foam-filled GFRP deck less brittle.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.231-242
• /
• 2012

This research work aims to develop an optimal design using Finite Element (FE) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) methods to replace the traditional concrete and timber material by a Synthetic Polyurethane fibre glass composite material in railway sleepers. The conventional timber railway sleeper technology is associated with several technical problems related to its durability and ability to resist cutting and abrading action of the bearing plate. The use of pre-stress concrete sleeper in railway industry has many disadvantages related to the concrete material behaviour to resist dynamic stress that may lead to a significant mechanical damage with feasible fissures and cracks. Scientific researchers have recently developed a new composite material such as Glass Fibre Reinforced Polyurethane (GFRP) foam to replace the conventional one. The mechanical properties of these materials are reliable enough to help solving structural problems such as durability, light weight, long life span (50-60 years), less water absorption, provide electric insulation, excellent resistance of fatigue and ability to recycle. This paper suggests appropriate sleeper design to reduce the volume of the material. The design optimization shows that the sleeper length is more sensitive to the loading type than the other parameters.