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The effect of sizing on composite properties for materials used in the shuttle filament wound case
Author(s) -
Cagliostro D. E.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.760280904
Subject(s) - sizing , ultimate tensile strength , materials science , composite material , epoxy , composite number , fiber , protein filament , filament winding , chemistry , organic chemistry
An epoxy resin and a sized carbon fiber have been used to produce a light‐weight filament wound case for the Space Shuttle. The sizing facilitates fiber handling during winding but may affect the amount of resin absorbed by the fiber during impregnation and the final mechanical properties of the composite. Naval Ordnance Lab rings were wound to study the effect of the sizing content on the resin absorption by the fiber bundles, the final tensile properties of the composite, and the type of failure observed at burst. The resin content of the rings studied was between 20 to 40 percent, and the sizing content, 0 to 1.6 percent by weight. Results showed that the sizing content was a critical parameter which determined the amount of resin absorbed by the fibers. The final tensile strength was dependent on the amount of sizing present. The tensile strength decreased by as much, as 60 percent when a low resin and high sizing content were present. The type of failure at burst was a function of resin content rather than size content.