Contents
Author contact details ix
Preface xi
1 Introduction to polymer matrix composites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
1.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 The definition of composite materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Naming and classification of composite materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 Molding methods of composite materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1.5 Characteristics of composite materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.6 Application of composite materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.7 The progress of composite materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.8 The important role of composite materials in the 21st century . . . . . . . . 24
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Part I Component materials
2 Reinforced materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.2 Glass fiber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.3 Carbon fiber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
2.4 Aramid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
2.5 Other reinforced fibers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
3 Matrix materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
3.1 Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
3.2 Basic properties of matrix materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
3.3 Technological properties of matrix materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
3.4 Matrix resin of composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
3.5 High performance resin matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
3.6 Resin matrix used for corrosion-resistant composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
4 Interface of polymer matrix composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
4.1 The basic concept of interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
4.2 The formation and action mechanism of interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
4.3 Damage mechanism of interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
4.4 Surface treatment of fiber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
4.5 Study on composite interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Part II Processing of composite materials
5 Fabrication of the half-finished products for polymer composites . . . . .213
5.1 The manufacturing method of thermoplastic granules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
5.2 The manufacturing of thermosetting molding compound. . . . . . . . . . . .223
5.3 Manufacturing method of continuous fiber prepregs for molding
composites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238
5.4 Manufacturing of reinforced thermoplastic sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
6 Forming technology of polymer matrix composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
6.1 Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
6.2 Brief introduction of various molding techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
6.3 Mold and auxiliary materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
6.4 Curing process of composite materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
7 Molding technology of sandwich structure composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
7.1 The molding technology for honeycomb sandwich structure . . . . . . . . 321
7.2 Molding process of foam sandwich structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Part III Performance of composite materials
8 Elementary mechanical properties of composite materials . . . . . . . . . . . 357
8.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .357
8.2 Tensile properties of unidirectional fiber composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
8.3 Tensile properties of orthogonal fiber composite materials . . . . . . . . . . 394
8.4 Compression performance of unidirectional fiber composite
materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
8.5 The shear behaviors of unidirectional and orthogonal composites . . . . 407
8.6 The bending properties of composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
8.7 The off-axis mechanical properties of composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
8.8 Basic mechanical properties of multi-directional composite
materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
9 Other mechanical properties of composite materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
9.1 Impact, fatigue, creep, environmental effect, fracture and damage of
composites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .455
9.2 The basic mechanical properties of sandwich structure
composite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
10 High frequency dielectric properties of composites and radome . . . . . 487
10.1 High frequency dielectric properties of glass fiber composites . . . . . . 487
10.2 Radome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
11 Other properties of polymer composites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
11.1 Thermal physical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
11.2 Heat resistance of composites and its applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
11.3 Chemical corrosion resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
11.4 Wearability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536
11.5 Flame resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Preface
Continuous fiber reinforced composites are a new kind of material with such properties as low density, high strength, high modulus, damage tolerance and safety. They have become very important to the aerospace industry, and found more and more applications in other industries and recreational consumer goods. Polymer matrix composites are the most important type of composite currently in widespread use. Therefore, they are an important subject for college students majoring in materials science and engineering. They have developed rapidly in the last ten or twenty years. New fibers and new matrix resins with better properties and more functions are coming out continuously, as are new molding methods and technologies. This book “Polymer matrix composites and technology” is written according to the cultivating scheme for college students majoring in polymer materials and engineering, and based on two earlier textbooks “Polymer matrix composites” (1986) and “Molding technology of polymer matrix composites products” (1981) and long time teaching practice on the composites course taught by the authors in Northwestern Polytechnical University.
The book was listed as a 21st century textbook project of Northwestern Polytechnical University, and, in the writing process, we try to reflect new developments in the composites field. The authors hope that it accurately reflects the raw materials, technology and performance of polymer matrix composites, and is suitable for course teaching of polymer materials and engineering major so as to meet the demand of knowledge and skill in composites field for technician in the aeronautical industry. There will be some errors in covering such a broad subject, and the authors sincerely ask experts and readers to give them their comments and critiques so that they can amend and supplement the text to make it better.
The book was written to systemically illustrate the essential concept, basic knowledge and elementary property of polymer matrix composites. Structurally, the book consists of an introductory chapter (Chapter 1) and three parts. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the concept, performance characteristics, application area and development of polymer matrix composites. After reading this chapter, readers should be able to gain some insight of the polymer matrix composites industry and how it affects our daily life.
Part I explores the component of composite material, i.e. fiber, matrix resin and interface, respectively. Discussions include details and examples in each component. The “Fiber” Chapter covers the preparation, structure and property of the main reinforced fibers, and the variety and corresponding special features of each type. It follows with the “Matrix” Chapter where the role, property of matrix resin and its influence on the property of composites as well as formulation design and selection of polymer matrix are explained with great details. Furthermore, in the “Interface” chapter, we discuss the formation, function and damage mechanism of the interface in polymer matrix composites. We also talk about the surface treatment of fiber and research method on interface.
Part II deals with the process and technology for preparing the composite product. Content of the three chapters are respectively the preparation of half-finished product, molding technology of composites, and sandwich structure molding. Specifically, crucial aspects of the topics include the principles of molding, determination of curing process parameters as well as the quality control of composite product.
Part III covers the performance of composites. In the first chapter of this part, micromechanics method is applied to analyze the elementary mechanical properties of composites, the anisotropy of composites and the mechanical properties of multiplied composite laminates. The discussions extend in the following chapter to the basic mechanical properties of composite sandwich structure, composites fracture and damage, impact, fatigue, creep and environment effect. Moreover, in the third chapter of this part, we introduce the high frequency dielectric property of composite and its application in radome. Other properties of composites such as thermal physical properties, chemical properties and etc are covered in the last chapter.
The book was written by Ru-Min Wang, Shui-Rong Zheng and Ya-Ping Zheng who all work in Northwestern Polytechnical University. The work was divided as follows: Ru-Min Wang for Chapter 1, 6, 7, 8, 9; Shui-Rong Zheng for Chapter 2, 5, 10; and Ya-Ping Zheng for Chapter 3, 4, 11. The whole book was unified in structure and content by Ru-Min Wang. In the writing process, we got great support and help from Prof Xi-Zhen Zhou and Prof Man-Ling Sun, and express our acknowledgement to them. The book was chiefly reviewed by Prof Feng-Ji Lu in Xi’an Jiaotong University. She carefully checked and read the book in her busy schedule and put forward many valuable comments and suggestions, and we here express our deep thanks to her.
The whole book was translated and revised by authors Ru-MinWang and Shui- Rong Zheng. The translation edition of the book was reviewed and proofread by my son Yu-Xiang Wang and his classmate Su Zhou who are now studying in National University of Singapore. Without their reworking on the words, sentence structure and grammar, this work would still be unfinished. We would like to thank many postgraduates of class 2008 who took my course on composite mate rials, especially my students Chao Yan and Xin-Lin Liu who gave us much help and put a lot of hard work at the beginning of translation process. I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, Bao-QianWang and Quan-Sheng Du, for their ever-constant encouragement and inspiration.