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Carbon Fiber Composites
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Carbon Fiber Composites

A special issue of Journal of Composites Science (ISSN 2504-477X). This special issue belongs to the section "Carbon Composites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 62785

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jiadeng Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA
Interests: energy; polymers; fibers; biomaterials; low-dimensional materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Gouqing Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
North Carolina State University
Interests: carbon composites; 2d materials; water splitting; surface chemistry; hydrogen evolution
Dr. Lixing Kang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Nanyang Technological University
Interests: synthesis of nanocarbon materials; composites; 2D materials; optoelectronic devices

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Many efforts have been made to create light-weight materials that maintain excellent physical and chemical properties, aiming at energy savings and property enhancement for aerospace, automotive, marine, and industrial applications over the past few decades. Among them, carbon fibers and their composites have attracted significant attention because of their unique properties, including high strength and modulus, novel dimensional stability, high surface area/volume ratios, low coefficient of thermal expansion, etc. Therefore, they have been widely applied in fields of energy storage, filtration, aircraft, etc., via advanced manufacturing technologies (i.e., wet/melt spinning, solution casting, 3D printing, etc.).

Processing–structure–property relationships of carbon fibers and their composites are crucial for their future applications in the fields of energy, engineering, and the environment. Various precursors and processing approaches have been studied to prepare carbon fibers and composites with specific structures to achieve excellent multifunctional properties, consisting of better mechanical, thermal, electrical, and barrier properties. However, to date, lowering the manufacturing cost and expanding their applications remain challenging.

The main aim of this Special Issue is to tackle the points mentioned above for the preparation, characterization, and properties of advanced carbon fibers and their composites to offer an insight into them, facilitating their practical applications in various fields.

Dr. Jiadeng Zhu
Dr. Gouqing Li
Dr. Lixing Kang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Composites Science is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Carbon fibers
  • Carbon nanofibers
  • Composites
  • Filtration
  • Energy
  • Environment

Published Papers (24 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

3 pages, 191 KiB  
Editorial
Editorial for the Special Issue on Carbon Fiber Composites
by Jiadeng Zhu, Guoqing Li and Lixing Kang
J. Compos. Sci. 2024, 8(3), 113; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs8030113 - 21 Mar 2024
Viewed by 569
Abstract
Carbon fibers (CFs) have received tremendous attention since their discovery in the 1860s due to their unique properties, including outstanding mechanical properties, low density, excellent chemical resistance, good thermal conductivity, etc [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

10 pages, 2898 KiB  
Article
A Molecular Dynamics Study of the Stability and Mechanical Properties of a Nano-Engineered Fuzzy Carbon Fiber Composite
by Hassan Almousa, Qing Peng and Abduljabar Q. Alsayoud
J. Compos. Sci. 2022, 6(2), 54; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs6020054 - 10 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2436
Abstract
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites are used in various applications, and the interface of fibers and polymer is critical to the composites’ structural properties. We have investigated the impact of introducing different carbon nanotube loadings to the surfaces of carbon fibers and characterized the [...] Read more.
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites are used in various applications, and the interface of fibers and polymer is critical to the composites’ structural properties. We have investigated the impact of introducing different carbon nanotube loadings to the surfaces of carbon fibers and characterized the interfacial properties by molecular dynamics simulations. The carbon fiber (CF) surface structure was explicitly modeled to replicate the graphite crystallites’ interior consisting of turbostratic interconnected graphene multilayers. Then, single-walled carbon nanotubes and polypropylene chains were packed with the modeled CFs to construct a nano-engineered “fuzzy” CF composite. The mechanical properties of the CF models were calculated through uniaxial tensile simulations. Finally, the strength to peel the polypropylene from the nano-engineered CFs and interfacial energy were calculated. The interfacial strength and energy results indicate that a higher concentration of single-walled carbon nanotubes improves the interfacial properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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14 pages, 3442 KiB  
Article
Additive Manufacturing of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Composites: The Effect of Fiber Content on Compressive Properties
by Olusanmi Adeniran, Weilong Cong, Eric Bediako and Victor Aladesanmi
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(12), 325; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5120325 - 16 Dec 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3158
Abstract
The additive manufacturing (AM) of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites continue to grow due to the attractive strength-to-weight and modulus-to-weight ratios afforded by the composites combined with the ease of processibility achievable through the AM technique. Short fiber design factors such as [...] Read more.
The additive manufacturing (AM) of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites continue to grow due to the attractive strength-to-weight and modulus-to-weight ratios afforded by the composites combined with the ease of processibility achievable through the AM technique. Short fiber design factors such as fiber content effects have been shown to play determinant roles in the mechanical performance of AM fabricated CFRP composites. However, this has only been investigated for tensile and flexural properties, with no investigations to date on compressive properties effects of fiber content. This study examined the axial and transverse compressive properties of AM fabricated CFRP composites by testing CF-ABS with fiber contents from 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% for samples printed in the axial and transverse build orientations, and for axial tensile in comparison to the axial compression properties. The results were that increasing carbon fiber content for the short-fiber thermoplastic CFRP composites slightly reduced compressive strength and modulus. However, it increased ductility and toughness. The 20% carbon fiber content provided the overall content with the most decent compressive properties for the 0–30% content studied. The AM fabricated composite demonstrates a generally higher compressive property than tensile property because of the higher plastic deformation ability which characterizes compression loaded parts, which were observed from the different failure modes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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10 pages, 2702 KiB  
Article
Controllable Synthesis of Graphene-Encapsulated NiFe Nanofiber for Oxygen Evolution Reaction Application
by Mengyang Li, Jiayi Rong, Ning Guo, Susu Chen, Meiqi Gao, Feng Cao and Guoqing Li
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(12), 314; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5120314 - 29 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2193
Abstract
Carbon-Encapsulated NiFe Nanofiber NixFey@C-CNFs have been demonstrated to be promising candidates to replace conventional nobel metals-based catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction. Here, we developed a facile method of electrospinning and high temperature carbonization to synthesize NixFey [...] Read more.
Carbon-Encapsulated NiFe Nanofiber NixFey@C-CNFs have been demonstrated to be promising candidates to replace conventional nobel metals-based catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction. Here, we developed a facile method of electrospinning and high temperature carbonization to synthesize NixFey@C-CNFs catalysts. It is proved that Ni3Fe7@C-CNFs exhibited low overpotential (245 mV) and excellent stability in alkaline electrolyte for OER. This work provides a good platform for the synthesis and design of graphene-encapsulated alloy catalysts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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10 pages, 5030 KiB  
Article
Manufacturing and Performance of Carbon Short Fiber Reinforced Composite Using Various Aluminum Matrix
by Yongbum Choi, Xuan Meng and Zhefeng Xu
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(12), 307; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5120307 - 24 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2058
Abstract
A new fabrication process without preform manufacturing has been developed for carbon short fiber (CSF) reinforced various aluminum matrix composites. And their mechanical and thermal properties were evaluated. Electroless Ni plating was conducted on the CSF for improving wettability between the carbon fiber [...] Read more.
A new fabrication process without preform manufacturing has been developed for carbon short fiber (CSF) reinforced various aluminum matrix composites. And their mechanical and thermal properties were evaluated. Electroless Ni plating was conducted on the CSF for improving wettability between the carbon fiber (CF) and aluminum. It was confirmed that pores in Ni plated CSF/Al and Al alloy matrix composites prepared by applied pressure, 0.8 MPa, had some imperfect infiltration regions between the CF/CF and CF/matrix in all composites. However, pores size in the region between the CF/CF and CF/matrix to use the A336 matrix was about 1 µm. This size is smaller than that of other aluminum-based composites. Vickers hardness of Ni plated CSF/A1070, A356 alloy, and A336 alloy composites were higher as compared to matrix. However, the A1070 pure aluminum matrix composite had the highest hardness improvement. The Ultimate tensile strength of the A1070 and A356 aluminum matrix composite was increased due to carbon fiber compared to only aluminum, but the Ultimate tensile strength of the A336 aluminum matrix composite was rather lowered due to the highest content of Si precipitate and large size of Al3Ni compounds. The Thermal Conductivity of Ni plated CSF/A1070 composite has the highest value (167.1 W·m−1·K−1) as compared to composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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21 pages, 9765 KiB  
Article
An Experimental Study of the Cyclic Compression after Impact Behavior of CFRP Composites
by Raffael Bogenfeld and Christopher Gorsky
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(11), 296; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5110296 - 10 Nov 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1706
Abstract
The behavior of impact damaged composite laminates under cyclic load is crucial to achieve a damage tolerant design of composite structures. A sufficient residual strength has to be ensured throughout the entire structural service life. In this study, a set of 27 impacted [...] Read more.
The behavior of impact damaged composite laminates under cyclic load is crucial to achieve a damage tolerant design of composite structures. A sufficient residual strength has to be ensured throughout the entire structural service life. In this study, a set of 27 impacted coupon specimens is subjected to quasi-static and cyclic compression load. After long intervals without detectable damage growth, the specimens fail through the sudden lateral propagation of delamination and fiber kink bands within few load cycles. Ultrasonic inspections were used to reveal the damage size after certain cycle intervals. Through continuous dent depth measurements during the cyclic tests, the evolution of the dent visibility was monitored. These measurements revealed a relaxation of the indentation of up to 90% before ultimate failure occurs. Due to the distinct relaxation and the short growth interval before ultimate failure, this study confirms the no-growth design approach as the preferred method to account for the damage tolerance of stiffened, compression-loaded composite laminates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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9 pages, 3100 KiB  
Article
Design of Low Cost Carbon Fiber Composites via Examining the Micromechanical Stress Distributions in A42 Bean-Shaped versus T650 Circular Fibers
by Imad Hanhan and Michael D. Sangid
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(11), 294; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5110294 - 07 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1633
Abstract
Recent advancements have led to new polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber precursors which reduce production costs, yet lead to bean-shaped cross-sections. While these bean-shaped fibers have comparable stiffness and ultimate strength values to typical carbon fibers, their unique morphology results in varying in-plane orientations and [...] Read more.
Recent advancements have led to new polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber precursors which reduce production costs, yet lead to bean-shaped cross-sections. While these bean-shaped fibers have comparable stiffness and ultimate strength values to typical carbon fibers, their unique morphology results in varying in-plane orientations and different microstructural stress distributions under loading, which are not well understood and can limit failure strength under complex loading scenarios. Therefore, this work used finite element simulations to compare longitudinal stress distributions in A42 (bean-shaped) and T650 (circular) carbon fiber composite microstructures. Specifically, a microscopy image of an A42/P6300 microstructure was processed to instantiate a 3D model, while a Monte Carlo approach (which accounts for size and in-plane orientation distributions) was used to create statistically equivalent A42/P6300 and T650/P6300 microstructures. First, the results showed that the measured in-plane orientations of the A42 carbon fibers for the analyzed specimen had an orderly distribution with peaks at |ϕ|=0∘,180∘. Additionally, the results showed that under 1.5% elongation, the A42/P6300 microstructure reached simulated failure at approximately 2108 MPa, while the T650/P6300 microstructure did not reach failure. A single fiber model showed that this was due to the curvature of A42 fibers which was 3.18 μm−1 higher at the inner corner, yielding a matrix stress that was 7 MPa higher compared to the T650/P6300 microstructure. Overall, this analysis is valuable to engineers designing new components using lower cost carbon fiber composites, based on the micromechanical stress distributions and unique packing abilities resulting from the A42 fiber morphologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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21 pages, 6229 KiB  
Article
Simplified Approach for Parameter Selection and Analysis of Carbon and Glass Fiber Reinforced Composite Beams
by Reza Moazed, Mohammad Amir Khozeimeh and Reza Fotouhi
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(8), 220; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5080220 - 18 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3064
Abstract
In this study, a simplified approach that can be used for the selection of the design parameters of carbon and glass fiber reinforced composite beams is presented. Important design parameters including fiber angle orientation, laminate thickness, materials of construction, cross-sectional shape, and mass [...] Read more.
In this study, a simplified approach that can be used for the selection of the design parameters of carbon and glass fiber reinforced composite beams is presented. Important design parameters including fiber angle orientation, laminate thickness, materials of construction, cross-sectional shape, and mass are considered. To allow for the integrated selection of these parameters, structural indices and efficiency metrics are developed and plotted in design charts. As the design parameters depend on mode of loading, normalized structural metrics are defined for axial, bending, torsional, and combined bending-torsional loading conditions. The design charts provide designers with an accurate and efficient approach for the determination of stiffness parameters and mass of laminated composite beams. Using the design charts, designers can readily determine optimum fiber direction, number of layers in a laminate, cross-sectional shape, and materials that will provide the desired mass and stiffness. The laminated composite beams were also analyzed through a detailed finite element analysis study. Three-dimensional solid elements were used for the finite element modelling of the beams. To confirm design accuracy, numerical results were compared with close-form solutions and results obtained from the design charts. To show the effectiveness of the design charts, the simplified method was utilized for increasing the bending and torsional stiffness of a laminated composite robotic arm. The results show that the proposed approach can be used to accurately and efficiently analyze composite beams that fall within the boundaries of the design charts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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16 pages, 5568 KiB  
Article
Influences on Textile and Mechanical Properties of Recycled Carbon Fiber Nonwovens Produced by Carding
by Frank Manis, Georg Stegschuster, Jakob Wölling and Stefan Schlichter
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(8), 209; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5080209 - 06 Aug 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2848
Abstract
Nonwovens made of recycled carbon fibers (rCF) and thermoplastic (TP) fibers have excellent economic and ecological potential. In contrast to new fibers, recycled carbon fibers are significantly cheaper, and the CO2 footprint is mostly compensated by energy savings in the first product [...] Read more.
Nonwovens made of recycled carbon fibers (rCF) and thermoplastic (TP) fibers have excellent economic and ecological potential. In contrast to new fibers, recycled carbon fibers are significantly cheaper, and the CO2 footprint is mostly compensated by energy savings in the first product life cycle. The next step for this promising material is its industrial serial use. Therefore, we analyzed the process chain from fiber to composite material. Initially, the rCF length at different positions during the carding process was measured. Thereafter, we evaluated the influence of the TP fibers on the processing, fiber shortening, and mechanical properties. Finally, several nonwovens with different TP fibers and fiber volume contents between 15 vol% and 30 vol% were produced, consolidated by hot-pressing, and tested by four-point bending to determine the mechanical values. The fiber length reduction ranged from 20.6% to 28.4%. TP fibers cushioned the rCF against mechanical stress but held rCF fragments back due to their crimp. The resulting bending strength varied from 301 to 405 MPa, and the stiffness ranged from 16.3 to 30.1 GPa. Design recommendations for reduced fiber shortening are derived as well as material mixtures that offer better homogeneity and higher mechanical properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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16 pages, 2880 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Porous Carbon Films and Their Impact on Carbon/Polypropylene Interfacial Bonding
by Yucheng Peng, Ruslan Burtovyy, Rajendra Bordia and Igor Luzinov
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(4), 108; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5040108 - 14 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2250
Abstract
Porous carbon films were generated by thermal treatment of polymer films made from poly(acrylonitrile-co-methyl acrylate)/polyethylene terephthalate (PAN/PET) blend. The precursor films were fabricated by a dip-coating process using PAN/PET solutions in hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP). A two-step process, including stabilization and carbonization, was employed to [...] Read more.
Porous carbon films were generated by thermal treatment of polymer films made from poly(acrylonitrile-co-methyl acrylate)/polyethylene terephthalate (PAN/PET) blend. The precursor films were fabricated by a dip-coating process using PAN/PET solutions in hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP). A two-step process, including stabilization and carbonization, was employed to produce the carbon films. PET functioned as a pore former. Specifically, porous carbon films with thicknesses from 0.38–1.83 μm and pore diameters between 0.1–10 μm were obtained. The higher concentrations of PET in the PAN/PET mixture and the higher withdrawal speed during dip-coating caused the formation of larger pores. The thickness of the carbon films can be regulated using the withdrawal speed used in the dip-coating deposition. We determined that the deposition of the porous carbon film on graphite substrate significantly increases the value of the interfacial shear strength between graphite plates and thermoplastic PP. This study has shown the feasibility of fabrication of 3D porous carbon structure on the surface of carbon materials for increasing the interfacial strength. We expect that this approach can be employed for the fabrication of high-performance carbon fiber-thermoplastic composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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15 pages, 5801 KiB  
Article
Impact Damage Ascertainment in Composite Plates Using In-Situ Acoustic Emission Signal Signature Identification
by Robin James, Roshan Prakash Joseph and Victor Giurgiutiu
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(3), 79; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5030079 - 12 Mar 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2381
Abstract
Barely visible impact damage (BVID) due to low velocity impact events in composite aircraft structures are becoming prevalent. BVID can have an adverse effect on the strength and safety of the structure. During aircraft inspections it can be extremely difficult to visually detect [...] Read more.
Barely visible impact damage (BVID) due to low velocity impact events in composite aircraft structures are becoming prevalent. BVID can have an adverse effect on the strength and safety of the structure. During aircraft inspections it can be extremely difficult to visually detect BVID. Moreover, it is also a challenge to ascertain if the BVID has in-fact caused internal damage to the structure or not. This paper describes a method to ascertain whether or not internal damage happened during the impact event by analyzing the high-frequency information contained in the recorded acoustic emission signal signature. Multiple 2 mm quasi-isotropic carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite coupons were impacted using the ASTM D7136 standard in a drop weight impact testing machine to determine the mass, height and energy parameters to obtain approximately 1” impact damage size in the coupons iteratively. For subsequent impact tests, four piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) were bonded at specific locations on each coupon to record the acoustic emission (AE) signals during the impact event using the MISTRAS micro-II digital AE system. Impact tests were conducted on these instrumented 2 mm coupons using previously calculated energies that would create either no damage or 1” impact damage in the coupons. The obtained AE waveforms and their frequency spectrums were analyzed to distinguish between different AE signatures. From the analysis of the recorded AE signals, it was verified if the structure had indeed been damaged due to the impact event or not. Using our proposed structural health monitoring technique, it could be possible to rapidly identify impact events that cause damage to the structure in real-time and distinguish them from impact events that do not cause damage to the structure. An invention disclosure describing our acoustic emission structural health monitoring technique has been filed and is in the process of becoming a provisional patent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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19 pages, 4219 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Composite Structures in Curing Process for Shape Deformations and Shear Stress: Basis for Advanced Optimization
by Niraj Kumbhare, Reza Moheimani and Hamid Dalir
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(2), 63; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5020063 - 23 Feb 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4531
Abstract
Identifying residual stresses and the distortions in composite structures during the curing process plays a vital role in coming up with necessary compensations in the dimensions of mold or prototypes and having precise and optimized parts for the manufacturing and assembly of composite [...] Read more.
Identifying residual stresses and the distortions in composite structures during the curing process plays a vital role in coming up with necessary compensations in the dimensions of mold or prototypes and having precise and optimized parts for the manufacturing and assembly of composite structures. This paper presents an investigation into process-induced shape deformations in composite parts and structures, as well as a comparison of the analysis results to finalize design parameters with a minimum of deformation. A Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) method was used to generate the required random points of the input variables. These variables were then executed with the Ansys Composite Cure Simulation (ACCS) tool, which is an advanced tool used to find stress and distortion values using a three-step analysis, including Ansys Composite PrepPost, transient thermal analysis, and static structural analysis. The deformation results were further utilized to find an optimum design to manufacture a complex composite structure with the compensated dimensions. The simulation results of the ACCS tool are expected to be used by common optimization techniques to finalize a prototype design so that it can reduce common manufacturing errors like warpage, spring-in, and distortion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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12 pages, 2894 KiB  
Article
Strain Mapping and Damage Tracking in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Epoxy Composites during Dynamic Bending Until Fracture with Quantum Resistive Sensors in Array
by Antoine Lemartinel, Mickaël Castro, Olivier Fouché, Julio-César De Luca and Jean-François Feller
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(2), 60; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5020060 - 20 Feb 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2219
Abstract
The sustained development of wind energies requires a dramatic rising of turbine blade size especially for their off-shore implantation, which requires as well composite materials with higher performances. In this context, the monitoring of the health of these structures appears essential to decrease [...] Read more.
The sustained development of wind energies requires a dramatic rising of turbine blade size especially for their off-shore implantation, which requires as well composite materials with higher performances. In this context, the monitoring of the health of these structures appears essential to decrease maintenance costs, and produce a cheaper kwh. Thus, the input of quantum resistive sensors (QRS) arrays, to monitor the strain gradient in area of interest and anticipate damage in the core of composite structures, without compromising their mechanical properties, sounds promising. QRS are nanostructured strain and damage sensors, transducing strain at the nanoscale into a macroscopic resistive signal for a consumption of only some µW. QRS can be positioned on the surface or in the core of the composite material between plies, and this homogeneously as they are made of the same resin as the composite. The embedded QRS had a gauge factor of 3, which was found more than enough to follow the strain from 0.01% to 1.4% at the final failure. The spatial deployment of four QRS in array made possible for the first time the experimental visualization of a strain field comparable to the numerical simulation. QRS proved also to be able to memorize damage accumulation within the sample and thus could be used to attest the mechanical history of composites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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15 pages, 5832 KiB  
Article
Thermal Shock Behavior of Twill Woven Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites
by Farzin Azimpour-Shishevan, Hamit Akbulut and M.A. Mohtadi-Bonab
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(1), 33; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5010033 - 18 Jan 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2625
Abstract
In the current research, the effect of cyclic temperature variation on the mechanical and thermal properties of woven carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites was investigated. To this, carbon fiber textiles in twill 2/2 pattern were used as reinforced phase in epoxy, and CFRPs were [...] Read more.
In the current research, the effect of cyclic temperature variation on the mechanical and thermal properties of woven carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites was investigated. To this, carbon fiber textiles in twill 2/2 pattern were used as reinforced phase in epoxy, and CFRPs were fabricated by vacuum-assisted resin-infusion molding (VARIM) method. Thermal cycling process was carried out between −40 and +120 °C for 20, 40, 60 and 80 cycles, in order to evaluate the effect of thermal cycling on mechanical and thermal properties of CFRP specimens. In this regard, tensile, bending and short beam shear (SBS) experiments were carried out, to obtain modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, flexural modulus, flexural strength and inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) at room temperature (RT), and then thermal treated composites were compared. A dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) test was carried out to obtain thermal properties, and viscoelastic properties, such as storage modulus (E’), loss modulus (E”) and loss factors (tan δ), were evaluated. It was observed that the characteristics of composites were affected by thermal cycling due to post-curing at a high temperature. This process worked to crosslink and improve the composite behavior or degrade it due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) of composite components. The response of composites to the thermal cycling process was determined by the interaction of these phenomena. Based on SEM observations, the delamination, fiber pull-out and bundle breakage were the dominant fracture modes in tensile-tested specimens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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16 pages, 6409 KiB  
Article
Droplet Spreading on Unidirectional Fiber Beds
by Patricio Martinez, Bo Cheng Jin and Steven Nutt
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(1), 13; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5010013 - 06 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2067
Abstract
This study reports a method to analyze parametric effects on the spread flow kinetics of fluid droplets on unidirectional fiber beds. The investigation was undertaken in order to guide the design of droplet arrays for production of an out-of-autoclave (OoA) prepreg featuring discontinuous [...] Read more.
This study reports a method to analyze parametric effects on the spread flow kinetics of fluid droplets on unidirectional fiber beds. The investigation was undertaken in order to guide the design of droplet arrays for production of an out-of-autoclave (OoA) prepreg featuring discontinuous resin distribution, referred to here as semi-preg. Volume-controlled droplets of a resin facsimile fluid were deposited on carbon fiber beds and the flow behavior was recorded. The time to full sorption (after deposition) and the maximum droplet spread distance were measured. Experiments revealed that fluid viscosity dominated time to full sorption—doubling the viscosity resulted in an 8- to 20-fold increase in sorption time, whereas doubling fabric areal weight increased the time only by a factor of three. Droplet spread distance was nearly invariant with fiber bed architecture and fluid viscosity. A series of droplet arrays were designed, demonstrating how the results can be leveraged to achieve different resin distributions to produce semi-preg optimized for OoA cure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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16 pages, 4977 KiB  
Article
Preparation and Evaluation of the Tensile Characteristics of Carbon Fiber Rod Reinforced 3D Printed Thermoplastic Composites
by Arivazhagan Selvam, Suresh Mayilswamy, Ruban Whenish, Rajkumar Velu and Bharath Subramanian
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(1), 8; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5010008 - 31 Dec 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3237
Abstract
The most common method to fabricate both simple and complex structures in the additive manufacturing process is fused deposition modeling (FDM). Many researchers have studied the strengthening of FDM components by adding short carbon fibers (CF) or by reinforcing solid carbon fiber rods. [...] Read more.
The most common method to fabricate both simple and complex structures in the additive manufacturing process is fused deposition modeling (FDM). Many researchers have studied the strengthening of FDM components by adding short carbon fibers (CF) or by reinforcing solid carbon fiber rods. In the current research, we sought to enhance the mechanical properties of FDM components by adding bioinspired solid CF rods during the fabrication process. An effective bonding interface of bioinspired CF rods and polylactic acid (PLA) was achieved by triangular interlocking sutures and by employing synthetic glue as the binding agent. In particular, the tensile strength of solid CF rod reinforced PLA samples was studied. Critical parameters such as layer thickness, extruder temperature, extruder speed, and shell thickness were considered for optimization. Significant process parameters were identified through leverage plots using the response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum parameters were found to be layer thickness of 0.04 mm, extruder temperature of 215 °C, extruder speed of 60 mm/s, and shell thickness of 1.2 mm. The results revealed that the bioinspired solid CF rod reinforced PLA (CFRPLA) composite exhibited a tensile strength of 82.06 MPa, which was approximately three times higher than the pure PLA (28 MPa, 66% lower than CFRPLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (28 MPa, 66% lower than CFRPLA), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) (34 MPa, 60% lower than CFRPLA), and nylon (34 MPa, 60% lower than CFRPLA) samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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15 pages, 3685 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Analysis of Flexible Riser with Carbon Fiber Composite Tension Armor
by Haichen Zhang, Lili Tong and Michael Anim Addo
J. Compos. Sci. 2021, 5(1), 3; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs5010003 - 25 Dec 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2764
Abstract
As oil and gas exploration moves to deeper areas of the ocean, the weight of flexible risers becomes an important factor in design. To reduce the weight of flexible risers and ease the load on the offshore platform, this paper present a cylindrical [...] Read more.
As oil and gas exploration moves to deeper areas of the ocean, the weight of flexible risers becomes an important factor in design. To reduce the weight of flexible risers and ease the load on the offshore platform, this paper present a cylindrical tensile armor layer made of composite materials that can replace the helical tensile armor layer made of carbon steel. The ACP (pre) of the workbench is used to model the composite tension armor. Firstly, the composite lamination of the tensile armor is discussed. Then, considering the progressive damage theory of composite material, the whole flexible riser is analyzed mechanically and compared with the original flexible riser. The weight of the flexible riser decreases by 9.73 kg/m, and the axial tensile stiffness decreases by 17.1%, while the axial tensile strength increases by 130%. At the same time, the flexible riser can meet the design strength requirements of torsion and bending. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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14 pages, 2992 KiB  
Article
Boosting Inter-ply Fracture Toughness Data on Carbon Nanotube-Engineered Carbon Composites for Prognostics
by Sunil C. Joshi
J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(4), 170; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs4040170 - 20 Nov 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1875
Abstract
In order to build predictive analytic for engineering materials, large data is required for machine learning (ML). Gathering such a data can be demanding due to the challenges involved in producing specialty specimen and conducting ample experiments. Additionally, numerical simulations require efforts. Smaller [...] Read more.
In order to build predictive analytic for engineering materials, large data is required for machine learning (ML). Gathering such a data can be demanding due to the challenges involved in producing specialty specimen and conducting ample experiments. Additionally, numerical simulations require efforts. Smaller datasets are still viable, however, they need to be boosted systematically for ML. A newly developed, knowledge-based data boosting (KBDB) process, named COMPOSITES, helps in logically enhancing the dataset size without further experimentation or detailed simulation. This process and its successful usage are discussed in this paper, using a combination of mode-I and mode-II inter-ply fracture toughness (IPFT) data on carbon nanotube (CNT) engineered carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. The amount of CNT added to strengthen the mid-ply interface of CFRP vs the improvement in IPFT is studied. A simpler way of combining mode-I and mode-II values of IPFT to predict delamination resistance is presented. Every step of the 10-step KBDB process, its significance and implementation are explained and the results presented. The KBDB helped in not only adding a number of data points reliably, but also in finding boundaries and limitations of the augmented dataset. Such an authentically boosted dataset is vital for successful ML. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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14 pages, 3158 KiB  
Article
Effect of Graphene Additive on Flexural and Interlaminar Shear Strength Properties of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composite
by Mohamed Ali Charfi, Ronan Mathieu, Jean-François Chatelain, Claudiane Ouellet-Plamondon and Gilbert Lebrun
J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(4), 162; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs4040162 - 30 Oct 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2879
Abstract
Composite materials are widely used in various manufacturing fields from aeronautic and aerospace industries to the automotive industry. This is due to their outstanding mechanical properties with respect to their light weight. However, some studies showed that the major flaws of these materials [...] Read more.
Composite materials are widely used in various manufacturing fields from aeronautic and aerospace industries to the automotive industry. This is due to their outstanding mechanical properties with respect to their light weight. However, some studies showed that the major flaws of these materials are located at the fiber/matrix interface. Therefore, enhancing matrix adhesion properties could significantly improve the overall material characteristics. This study aims to analyze the effect of graphene particles on the adhesion properties of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) through interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and flexural testing. Seven modified epoxy resins were prepared with different graphene contents. The CFRP laminates were next manufactured using a method that guarantees a repeatable and consistent fiber volume fraction with a low porosity level. Short beam shear and flexural tests were performed to compare the effect of graphene on the mechanical properties of the different laminates. It was found that 0.25 wt.% of graphene filler enhanced the flexural strength by 5%, whilst the higher concentrations (2 and 3 wt.%) decreased the flexural strength by about 7%. Regarding the ILSS, samples with low concentrations (0.25 and 0.5 wt.%) demonstrated a decent increase. Meanwhile, 3 wt.% slightly decreases the ILSS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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19 pages, 5791 KiB  
Article
Experimental and Computational Analysis of Low-Velocity Impact on Carbon-, Glass- and Mixed-Fiber Composite Plates
by Ahmed S. AlOmari, Khaled S. Al-Athel, Abul Fazal M. Arif and Faleh. A. Al-Sulaiman
J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(4), 148; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs4040148 - 13 Oct 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3412
Abstract
One of the problems with composites is their weak impact damage resistance and post-impact mechanical properties. Composites are prone to delamination damage when impacted by low-speed projectiles because of the weak through-thickness strength. To combat the problem of delamination damage, composite parts are [...] Read more.
One of the problems with composites is their weak impact damage resistance and post-impact mechanical properties. Composites are prone to delamination damage when impacted by low-speed projectiles because of the weak through-thickness strength. To combat the problem of delamination damage, composite parts are often over-designed with extra layers. However, this increases the cost, weight, and volume of the composite and, in some cases, may only provide moderate improvements to impact damage resistance. The selection of the optimal parameters for composite plates that give high impact resistance under low-velocity impact loads should consider several factors related to the properties of the materials as well as to how the composite product is manufactured. To obtain the desired impact resistance, it is essential to know the interrelationships between these parameters and the energy absorbed by the composite. Knowing which parameters affect the improvement of the composite impact resistance and which parameters give the most significant effect are the main issues in the composite industry. In this work, the impact response of composite laminates with various stacking sequences and resins was studied with the Instron 9250G drop-tower to determine the energy absorption. Three types of composites were used: carbon-fiber, glass-fiber, and mixed-fiber composite laminates. Also, these composites were characterized by different stacking sequences and resin types. The effect of several composite structural parameters on the absorbed energy of composite plates is studied. A finite element model was then used to find an optimized design with improved impact resistance based on the best attributes found from the experimental testing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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19 pages, 3522 KiB  
Article
Adhesion of Multifunctional Substrates for Integrated Cure Monitoring Film Sensors to Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers
by Alexander Kyriazis, Kais Asali, Michael Sinapius, Korbinian Rager and Andreas Dietzel
J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(3), 138; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs4030138 - 17 Sep 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2591
Abstract
During fiber composite production, the quality of the manufactured parts can be assured by measuring the progress of the curing reaction. Dielectric film sensors are particularly suitable for this measurement task, as they can quantify the degree of curing very specifically and locally. [...] Read more.
During fiber composite production, the quality of the manufactured parts can be assured by measuring the progress of the curing reaction. Dielectric film sensors are particularly suitable for this measurement task, as they can quantify the degree of curing very specifically and locally. These sensors are usually manufactured on PI films, which can lead to delaminations after integration. Other authors report that this negative influence can be reduced by miniaturization and a suitable shaping of the sensors. This article pursues as an alternative, a novel approach to achieve a material closure instead of a geometrically generated form closure by choosing suitable thermoplastic materials. Thermoplastic films made of PEI, PES and PA6 are proposed as carrier substrates for thin film sensors. They are investigated with regard to their mechanical effects in FRP. The experiments show that the integration of PES and PEI in FRP has the best shear strength, but PA6 leads to a higher critical energy release rate during crack propagation in mode I. For PI, a locally strongly scattering critical energy release rate was observed. Neither in tensile nor in Compression After Impact (CAI) tests a significant influence of the films on these characteristic values could be proven. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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15 pages, 6685 KiB  
Article
Impact Performance and Bending Behavior of Carbon-Fiber Foam-Core Sandwich Composite Structures in Cold Arctic Temperature
by M.H. Khan, Bing Li and K.T. Tan
J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(3), 133; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs4030133 - 10 Sep 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3311
Abstract
This study investigates the impact performance, post-impact bending behavior and damage mechanisms of Divinycell H-100 foam core with woven carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) face sheets sandwich panel in cold temperature Arctic conditions. Low-velocity impact tests were performed at 23, −30 and −70 [...] Read more.
This study investigates the impact performance, post-impact bending behavior and damage mechanisms of Divinycell H-100 foam core with woven carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) face sheets sandwich panel in cold temperature Arctic conditions. Low-velocity impact tests were performed at 23, −30 and −70 °C. Results indicate that exposure to low temperature reduces impact damage tolerance significantly. X-ray microcomputed tomography is utilized to reveal damage modes such as matrix cracking, delamination and fiber breakage on the CFRP face sheet, as well as core crushing, core shearing and debonding in the Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) foam core. Post-impact bending tests reveal that residual flexural properties are more sensitive to the in-plane compressive property of the CFRP face sheet than the tensile property. Specifically, the degradation of flexural strength strongly depends on pre-existing impact damage and temperature conditions. Statistical analyses based on this study are employed to show that flexural performance is dominantly governed by face sheet thickness and pre-bending impact energy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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8 pages, 1938 KiB  
Article
Effect of Power Ultrasonic on the Expansion of Fiber Strands
by Frederik Wilhelm, Sebastian Strauß, Raffael Weigant and Klaus Drechsler
J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(2), 50; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs4020050 - 08 May 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1782
Abstract
The present study investigates the effect of power ultrasonic on the expansion of fiber strands. A potential application of such expansion is in the production process known as closed injection pultrusion. The fiber strand in the pultrusion injection chamber is in compacted form, [...] Read more.
The present study investigates the effect of power ultrasonic on the expansion of fiber strands. A potential application of such expansion is in the production process known as closed injection pultrusion. The fiber strand in the pultrusion injection chamber is in compacted form, and so, any expansion of the fiber strand resulting from power ultrasonic should lead to improved fiber wetting. To investigate this, a wetted fiber strand was clamped on two sides and sonicated in the middle from below. The potential expansion of the fiber strand was visually determined through an observation window. The study concluded that power ultrasonic has a minimal to virtually negligible effect on the expansion of both glass and carbon fiber. The degree of expansion remains within a range of 3% maximum, with a standard deviation in the respective midpoint tests of up to 60% for glass fiber and over 100% for carbon fiber. This shows that the fibers are limited in their freedom of movement, and so no expansion can be achieved using power ultrasonic. A further increase in amplitude does not lead to any further expansion but to the destruction of the fibers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research

23 pages, 3971 KiB  
Review
Multifaceted Hybrid Carbon Fibers: Applications in Renewables, Sensing and Tissue Engineering
by Chandreyee Manas Das, Lixing Kang, Guang Yang, Dan Tian and Ken-Tye Yong
J. Compos. Sci. 2020, 4(3), 117; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/jcs4030117 - 16 Aug 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2908
Abstract
The field of material science is continually evolving with first-class discoveries of new nanomaterials. The element carbon is ubiquitous in nature. Due to its valency, it can exist in various forms, also known as allotropes, like diamond, graphite, one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotube (CNT), [...] Read more.
The field of material science is continually evolving with first-class discoveries of new nanomaterials. The element carbon is ubiquitous in nature. Due to its valency, it can exist in various forms, also known as allotropes, like diamond, graphite, one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanotube (CNT), carbon fiber (CF) and two-dimensional (2D) graphene. Carbon nano fiber (CNF) is another such material that falls within the category of CF. With much smaller diameters (around hundreds of nanometers) and lengths in microns, CNFs have higher aspect (length to diameter) ratios than CNTs. Because of their unique properties like high electrical and thermal conductivity, CNFs can be applied to many matrices like elastomers, thermoplastics, ceramics and metals. Owing to their outstanding mechanical properties, they can be used as reinforcements that can enhance the tensile and compressive strain limits of the base material. Thus, in this short review, we take a look into the dexterous characteristics of CF and CNF, where they have been hybridized with different materials, and delve deeply into some of the recent applications and advancements of these hybrid fiber systems in the fields of sensing, tissue engineering and modification of renewable devices since favorable mechanical and electrical properties of the CFs and CNFs like high tensile strength and electrical conductivity lead to enhanced device performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Fiber Composites)
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