Increase of Composite Bending Strength through Fiber Tensioning -Technical Note
Abstract
In the present research work, the flexural modulus and strength of glass fiber-epoxy resin and carbon fiber-epoxy resin composites have been enhanced through fiber tension during curing of the polymeric resin. This study showed that the tension applied on the fibers increased the flexural modulus of the glass-epoxy composites up to 12% and the flexural strength up to 19%. The flexural modulus and strength of carbon-epoxy were also increased up to 25% and 13%, respectively. It was shown that the optimum fiber tension to obtain the maximum flexural properties depends on the fiber the composite is made of. The mechanism through which the improvement has been achieved was also presented.
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