Abstract
AN COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES ON CONVENTIONAL LAMINATED GFRP AND Al-6061 REINFORCED LAMINATED GFRP FOR THE AUTOMOBILE APPLICATION
Sunil Kumar K. V., Dr. H. N. Vidyasagar*, Dr. H. K. Shivanand*, Dr. Prakash S. Inamdar and Shivalinga S.
ABSTRACT
The project deals with the development of Aluminum reinforced GFRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic) which will serve as an effective Replacement for conventional Aluminum A360 alloy, Structural Steel A36 & comparative study on GFRP used to manufacture safety frames in automobiles. Aluminum - glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) sandwich panels are hybrid laminates consisting of GFRP bonded with resin epoxy mixed aluminum powder. Such sandwich materials are increasingly used in airplane and automobile structures. Laminates with varying aluminum thickness fractions, fiber volume fractions and orientation in the layers of GFRP were fabricated by hand lay-up method and evaluated for their impact performance by conducting Tensile Test, Compression Test and Wear Test. The impact energy required for initiating a crack in the outer aluminum layer as well as the energy required for perforation was recorded. Scanning electron micrographs were taken to visualize the crack and the damage zone. The bidirectional cross-ply hybrid laminate AL-GFRP has been found to exhibit better impact performance and damage resistance than the unidirectional hybrid laminate (GFRP). Introduction of aluminum powder along with GFRP and a greater extent of thickness fraction (Altf) and fiber volume fraction (Vf) resulted in an Increase in the impact energy required for cracking and perforation. On an overall basis, the sandwich panels of Al-GFEP exhibited better impact performance than the monolithic aluminum.
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