Resilience of Advanced Polymer - Glass Fiber Composites

Overview

Physical properties of thermoplastic polymers can be improved with the incorporation of glass fibers into polymeric products, which significantly improves physical properties such as tensile strength, stiffness and dimensional stability at higher temperatures. This paper investigates optimization methods for improving resilience of advanced composite structural items made of polymers with the inclusion of glass fibers and specially formulated reinforcement elements. Tested variables included a) thickness and amount of glass fibers dispersed within the polymer matrix, b) addition and placement of woven mesh elements on open flat surfaces of a polymer panel and c) addition and selective placement of tension setters on ridges, which are the most likely areas of external stress. Ridged polymer test panels were tested for flexural strength using variable loads (ASTM D790 standard). Tension setters were found to be best embedded in laterally-extending rib elements of the composite structure, preferably as end-portions of rib elements. Open mesh woven elements should be placed strategically within the polymeric body to provide impact strength where needed the most. These innovative optimized structural 89 designs showed higher strength (up to 330% improvement vs. the base polymer panel) and higher impact resistance (up to 550% improvement), while also reducing weight by 15-21%, as compared to conventional non- reinforced polymer panels (at the same structural strength). These novel results opened a viable path to a new range of high-performance niche polymer composites. The results contributed significantly to a recently filed US utility patent application. SOUTH CAROLINA

Competition history

• JSHS 2023 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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