Marwa Abida^1,2, Jamel Mars^3,*, Florian Gehring¹, Alexandre Vivet¹, Fakhreddine Dammak³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.5, pp. 464-476, 2018, DOI:10.32604/JRM.2018.01897

Abstract Based on experimental test results, flax fiber reinforced polymer composites are characterized by nonlinear visco-elastoplastic behavior. The aim of this work is to model the quasi-unidirectional flax fiber reinforced composite behavior through a three dimensional formulation with orthotropic elasticity and orthotropic plasticity using Hill criterion. The isotropic hardening and Johnson Cook parameters are identified from unidirectional tensile tests at different strain rates. The adjustment of Hill’s yield criterion is developed based on yield stresses obtained in tensile tests at different directions. The numerical integration of the constitutive equations is implemented in a user-defined material, UMAT subroutines for the commercial finite… More >

Ahmad Safwan¹, Mohammad Jawaid^1*, Mohamed T. H. Sultan^1,2, Azman Hassan³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.5, pp. 529-535, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2018.634103

Abstract The application of natural fibers as reinforcement in composite material has increased due to environmental concerns, low cost, degradability and health concerns. The purpose of this study is to identify the best type of bamboo fibers to be used as reinforcement for kenaf (K)/bamboo hybrid composite. There were three types of bamboo fibers evaluated in this study which include bamboo mat (B), bamboo fabric (BF) and bamboo powder (BP). Chemical composition of B, BF, BP and K fibers were analyzed in this study. The effect of different types of bamboo fibers on tensile, impact, and morphological properties were investigated. The… More >

N. A. Sri Aprilia¹, M. S. Nurul Atiqah², Zhari Ismail³, C. Y. Loo², Chaturbhuj K. Saurabh², Rudi Dungani⁴, Abdul Khalil H.P.S^2*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 380-387, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634130

Abstract Due to environmental concerns, green composites have become a highly researched material. In the present study, kenaf fiber was used as reinforcement in epoxy-based composite with weight fraction ranges from 0, 5, 10, and 15% (w/w of resin). The ratio of epoxy to hardener was 65:32.5. Prior to incorporation, kenaf bast fiber underwent Soda-AQ pulping followed by total chlorine-free bleaching (OAZP sequence). The obtained pulp was then subjected to supercritical carbon dioxide extraction (SCE) treatment. It was observed that epoxy composite with 10% of fiber loading demonstrated the highest mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 64 MPa, tensile modulus… More >

A. Sammaiah¹, K. V. Padmaja¹, K. I. Suresh^*,2, R. B. N. Prasad¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.2, pp. 113-122, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634118

Abstract This article reports the effect of epoxidized jatropha oil (EJO) on the thermal, cure and viscoelastic properties of epoxy resins. Epoxidized jatropha oil with an oxirane value of 5.0 was prepared and epoxy formulations containing different concentrations of EJO were evaluated for cure, morphology, thermal and viscoelastic properties. The curing temperature of the formulations increased with increasing EJO content. The glass transition temperature of the cured films decreased from 56 °C for unmodified epoxy resin to 23 °C for the sample with 60 wt% EJO reactive diluent, suggesting good plasticizing action. The thermal decomposition was only marginally affected. More >

D.S. Liu^1,2, Z.H. Fong¹, I.H. Lin¹, Z.W. Zhuang¹

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.93, No.6, pp. 441-468, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2013.093.441

Abstract In this study, we proposed a novel numerical technique to simulate the transient moisture diffusion process and to apply it to heterogeneous composite resins. The method is based on a heterogeneous hybrid moisture element (HHME), with properties determined through an equivalent hybrid moisture capacitance/ conductance matrix that was calculated using the conventional finite element formulation in space discretization and the q-method in time discretization, with similar mass/stiffness properties and matrix condensing operations. A coupled HHME with finite element scheme was developed and implemented in the computer code by using the commercial software MATLAB to analyze the transient moisture diffusion process… More >

B. Yang^1,2, S.-C. Wong³, S. Qu³

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.24, No.2&3, pp. 81-94, 2008, DOI:10.3970/cmes.2008.024.081

Abstract In the modeling of overall property of composites, the effect of particle interaction has been either numerically taken into account within a (representative) volume element of a small number of particles or neglected/ignored in order for efficient solution to a large system of particles. In this study, we apply the point-defect Green's function (GF) to take into account the effect of particle interaction. It is applicable to small volume fractions of particles (within 10 %). The high efficiency of the method enables a simulation of a large system of particles with generally elastic anisotropy, arbitrary shape and composition, and arbitrary… More >

S. Marguet¹, P. Rozycki¹, L. Gornet¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.4, No.3, pp. 119-136, 2006, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2006.004.119

Abstract This paper deals with the modelling until rupture of composite structures made of glass-fibre / epoxy-resin woven fabrics submitted to dynamic loadings. The model is built at the mesoscale of the elementary ply. It takes into account the slightly nonlinear brittle behaviour of the fibres under tensile sollicitations, their nonlinear behaviour in compression as well as the strongly non linear and irreversible behaviour of the ply in shear. Strain rate effects are also introduced and special attention is paid to the objectivity of the model in the context of finite element calculation. Therefore the choice of a delayed damage mesomodel… More >

Jennifer D. Rhymer¹, Hyonny Kim¹

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.35, No.2, pp. 87-117, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.035.087

Abstract Polymer matrix composite structures are exposed to a variety of impact threats including hail ice. Internal delamination damage created by these impacts can exist in a form that is visually undetectable. This paper establishes an analysis methodology for predicting the onset of delamination damage in toughened carbon/epoxy composite laminates when impacted by high velocity ice spheres (hailstones). Experiments and analytical work focused on ice sphere impact onto composite panels have determined the failure threshold energy as a function of varying ice diameter and panel thickness, and have established the ability to predict the onset of delamination using cohesive elements in… More >

De-Shin Liu¹, Zhen-Wei Zhuang^1,2, Cho-LiangChung³, Ching-Yang Chen⁴

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 89-114, 2009, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2009.013.089

Abstract This paper employs a novel numerical technique, designated as the hybrid moisture element method (HMEM), to model and analyze moisture diffusion in a heterogeneous epoxy resin containing multiple randomly distributed particles. The HMEM scheme is based on a hybrid moisture element (HME), whose properties are determined by equivalent moisture capacitance and conductance matrixes calculated using the conventional finite element formulation. A coupled HME-FE scheme is developed and implemented using the commercial FEM software ABAQUS. The HME-FE scheme is then employed to analyze the moisture diffusion characteristics of a heterogeneous epoxy resin layer containing particle inclusions. The analysis commences by comparing… More >