An experimental study of weave pattern effect on the mechanical and dynamic behavior of composite laminates

Abstract

The current work aimed at investigating experimentally the weave pattern effects on the mechanical and dynamic behaviors of polymer matrix composite laminates. The laminates composed of three different weave types (plain, satin, and twill) of woven glass fabric and STR Medapoxy epoxy resin were fabricated via vacuum molding. Static bending experiments were applied to determine the influence of the weave pattern on the mechanical characteristics of the samples. The failure behaviors of the samples were also examined by optical and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses. Additionally, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) in the temperature range of 25–200 °C at 1 Hz frequency was conducted to investigate the dynamic characteristics of the samples. It was found that the samples having satin weave type had the best flexural modulus followed by the plain and twill weaves. However, the twill weave laminates exhibited better storage modulus at glass transition temperature values (T g) compared to the others. Also, an increase of 3.3 °C in glass transition temperature was observed compared to that of neat resin. This was attributed to the better fiber/matrix adhesion and the lower molecular mobility in the polymer chain by the addition of glass twill fibers.