• Composites Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2014

In this study, an investigation on mechanical properties of flax/vinyl ester natural fiber composite was performed as a precedent study on the design of eco-friendly structure using flax/vinyl ester composite. Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding(VARTM) manufacturing method was adopted for manufacturing the flax fiber composite specimen. The mechanical properties of the manufactured flax composites were compared with flax composite data cited from some references. Based on this, the experimental data showed that the flax/vinyl ester composite has some advantages when it is applied to environment-friendly structure.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.379-384
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• 2018

This paper aims to study flow characteristics of epoxy resin w.r.t. the sizing agents treated on the carbon fibers which have the same surface morphologies before sizing treatment. Dynamic contact angle (DCA) was measured to evaluate wettability of a single carbon fiber. Wicking test and Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) were performed to find relation between DCA measurement results and impregnation characteristics. In addition, surface properties of the carbon fibers such as surface free energy and chemical compositions were measured and interfacial shear strength (IFSS) between the carbon fiber and the resin were experimentally characterized by using micro-droplet tests. According to these experimental results, the sizing agent for carbon fibers should have appropriate level of surface free energy and good chemical compatibility with the resin to reconcile resin flow characteristics and interfacial strength.

• Composites Research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1-7
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• 2002

In VARTM process where a sacrificial medium is used to facilitate the resin flow, the velocity of resin varies drastically between the sacrificial medium and the fiber preform. Although the thickness-to-length ratio of a VARTM product is usually small, a 3-D analysis is prerequisite to analyze the lead-lag flow in the two different media. The problem associated with the full 3-D analysis is the CPU time. A full 3-D numerical mesh comprising large number of nodes requires an impractical CPU time on average computer platforms. In this study, a dual-scale analysis technique was developed. The flow analysis for the entire calculation domain was conducted in 2.5-D, and the 3-D analysis was performed for a small area of special concern. In some numerical examples, the local 3-D analysis could discover an eccentric flow pattern as well as the lead-lag flow that will inevitably be neglected in 2.5-D simulations. The global-local analysis technique practiced in this study can be used to analyze the intricate flow of resin through non-uniform media in affordable CPU times.

• Composites Research
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.340-347
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• 2015

As resin impregnates through the fiber preform in vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process, the volume of fibers is changed by expansion of fiber mat according to filling time. It causes not only the change in dimension but also the decrease of mechanical properties of the composite product. Moreover, it results in the economic loss by increase of the used amount of resin especially in the large product such as wind turbine blade. In this study, the ways to control fiber volume fraction were investigated by both the experimental and theoretical analyses on the expansion of fiber preform as the preform was impregnated by resin in the VARTM process. Two kinds of swelling stage were observed as flow front progressed, which was analyzed by comparing the experimental and simulation results. The process parameters are expected to be optimized by investigating the swelling behavior of fiber preform in the manufacturing process of the composite product.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.311-316
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• 2018

In the present study, the effect of GO in damping capacity of CF/epoxy laminates was studied via free vibration analysis. The composite laminates were manufactured by using vacuum assisted resin transfer molding technique. The damping properties of the prepared hybrid composites were determined in terms of natural frequency and damping ratio in free vibration test. The foremost aspire of this investigation was to compare the vibration properties i.e. natural frequency and modal damping of the prepared composites with the numerical results. The numerical study was carried out via FEA using $ANSYS^{TM}$ workbench software. The parametric study of the numerical models was also studied considering the beam free length and the beam thickness. It was found that the incorporation of GO enhanced the damping capacity of the composite and the variation of natural frequencies in mode1varied by 2-5% compared to the experimental study.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.10
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• pp.729-734
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• 2012

This study investigated the effect of water absorption on the tensile properties of carbon-glass/epoxy hybrid composites at room temperature and $-30^{\circ}C$. To investigate the effect of the position of glass fabric in the hybrid composite on the tensile properties, the stacking pattern of the fiber fabrics for reinforcing was created in three different ways: (a) glass fabrics sandwiched between carbon fabrics, (b) carbon fabrics sandwiched between glass fabrics and (c) alternative layers of carbon and glass fabrics. They were manufactured by a vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. The results showed that there was surprisingly little difference in tensile strength at the two different temperatures with dry and wet conditions. However, the water absorption into the hybrid system affected the tensile properties of the hybrid composites at RT and $-30^{\circ}C$. When the glass fabrics were at the outermost layers, the hybrid composite had the lowest tensile properties. This is attributed to the fact that the composite had a relatively high water absorption rate.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society For Composite Materials Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.146-149
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• 2005

The using of composite material is an aviation field but it changes into a general industry. Especially composites are expanding the use on transportation vehicles like automobiles, ships, and aircrafts. The main factor of this expansion is high specific strength. It can supply a high quality and efficiency of energy. But manufacturing of composite products requires many raw materials and tooling cost for special process, so we needs a reduction of these costs to achieve best efficiency. In the present study, we contrast the change of mechanical and physical properties between VaRTM(Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding) and hand lay-up process. VaRTM process can offer a high quality the same as autoclave products, and low cost like hand lay-up process. In the results of mechanical tests, VaRTM specimen is stronger than hand lay-up specimen and hand lay-up specimen became delamination. In the results of physical tests, the resin content of VaRTM specimen is lower than hand lay-up specimen. On micrograph, the strength of specimen by VaRTM between fiber and resin is stronger than that of one by hand lay-up. And the specimen by hand lay-up contains more defects than one by VaRTM. So, VaRTM process can practically apply for automobile engine hood. This paper shows that VaRTM process is one of the most suitable processes for composite parts of automobile.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Marine Engineers Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.377-381
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• 2005

The using of composite material is an aviation field but it changes into a general industry. Especially composites are expanding the use on transportation vehicles like automobiles, ships, and aircraft. The main factor of this expansion is high specific strength. It can supply a high quality and efficiency of energy. But manufacturing of composite products requires many raw materials and tooling cost for special process, so we needs a reduction of these costs to achieve best efficiency. In the present study, we contrast the change of mechanical and physical properties between VaRTM(Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding) and hand lay-up process. VaRTM process can offer a high quality the same as autoclave products, and low cost like hand lay-up process. In the results of mechanical tests, VaRTM specimen is stronger than hand lay-up specimen and hand lay-up specimen became delamination. In the results of physical tests, the resin content of VaRTM specimen is lower than hand lay-up specimen. On micrograph, the strength of specimen by VaRTM between fiber and resin is stronger than that of one by hand lay-up. And the specimen by hand lay-up contains more defects than one by VaRTM. So, VaRTM process can practically apply for automobile engine hood. This paper shows that VaRTM process is one of the most suitable processes for composite parts of automobile.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.276-281
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• 2018

In this paper, elastic behavior of woven fabric composites with various fiber yarn structure were predicted through a theoretical calculation model. A representative volume elements (RVE) that can represent the mechanical properties of the woven composites were selected and crimp angle of the weave yarn was defined by several sinusoidal functions. The effective material properties of the woven composite such as young's modulus, shear modulus and poisson's ratio was predicted by classical laminate theory (CLT). The fiber volume fractions were calculated according to the shape and pattern (plain, twill weave) of the fiber yarn, and the elastic behavior of each woven composite was obtained through a theoretical calculation model. Also, to verify the theoretical predictions, woven composite specimens of plain and twill weave were fabricated by vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process and then mechanical test was conducted. As a results, a good correlation between theoretical and experimental results for the elastic behavior of woven composites could be achieved.

• Advances in nano research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.97-111
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• 2022

In the present article, silica nanoparticles (SNPs) were exploited to improve the tribological and mechanical properties of vinyl ester/glass fiber composites. To the best of our knowledge, there hasn't been any prior study on the wear properties of glass fiber reinforced vinyl ester SiO₂ nanocomposites. The wear resistance is a critical concern in many industries which needs to be managed effectively to reduce high costs. To examine the influence of SNPs on the mechanical properties, seven different weight percentages of vinyl ester/nano-silica composites were initially fabricated. Afterward, based on the tensile testing results of the silica nanocomposites, four wt% of SNPs were selected to fabricate a ternary composite composed of vinyl ester/glass fiber/nano-silica using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. At the next stage, the tensile, three-point flexural, Charpy impact, and pin-on-disk wear tests were performed on the ternary composites. The fractured surfaces were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images after conducting previous tests. The most important and interesting result of this study was the development of a nanocomposite that exhibited a 52.2% decrease in the mean coefficient of friction (COF) by augmenting the SNPs, which is beneficial for the fabrication/repair of composite/steel energy pipelines as well as hydraulic and pneumatic pipe systems conveying abrasive materials. Moreover, the weight loss due to wearing the ternary composite containing one wt% of SNPs was significantly reduced by 70%. Such enhanced property of the fabricated nanocomposite may also be an important design factor for marine structures, bridges, and transportation of wind turbine blades.