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Load bearing properties of three‐component polymer composites
Author(s) -
Ahmed Ahsan,
Fahim Atef,
Naguib Hani E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.20963
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , composite number , finite element method , stiffness , sandwich structured composite , wedge (geometry) , load bearing , stress (linguistics) , structural engineering , physics , optics , engineering , linguistics , philosophy
Metal or solid polymer anchors are used as the load transfer components for foam and foam composites when they are used as the structural elements in design. The traditional method of fixation of these components is by fastening and adhesion. In this study, anchors were created in the form of inserts and were imbedded in the sandwich composite during the foaming process, resulting in the manufacture of three‐component composite. Flexure tests were conducted to study the effect of different geometries (rectangular, cylindrical, tapered/wedge shaped) and lengths of metal inserts on the strengths of sandwich composites. The stress strain response, mode of fracture of sandwich composite with metallic anchors was elucidated. The results showed that long tapered inserts imbedded in sandwich composite provide better load bearing and adhesion properties than other geometries. A model is presented that describes the relationship between stiffness reduction and progressive crack length of sandwich composite. Finite element analysis (FEA) of the interactions between the inserts and sandwich composites under different loads were carried out. FEA modeling and experimental results were in good agreement, thus validating the model. POLYM. COMPOS., 31:1731–1737, 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers.