06/07/2018

Mechanical Properties of
Composites
7

Smt Genap 2014 1

Mechanical Properties

• Comparison with Other Materials

• Test Considerations
• Environmental Effects

Smt Genap 2014 2

 06/07/2018

Objectives
• Recognize some of the basic differences in
mechanical, physical, and thermal properties of
composite materials that distinguish them from
metals;
• Describe the effects of the specific use environment
on the behavior of composite materials for a range of
operational conditions;
• Discuss various test methods and approaches in
evaluating and characterizing the mechanical
properties of composites for design and analysis
needs.

Smt Genap 2014 3

Comparison with Other Materials

• Metals and metallic structures have been used for over more than 100
years in engineering and are well understood materials with a large
database of design data and experience.
• Plastics have been used for the last 50 years and have extensive database
of properties and manufacturing information.
• Composites technology is much more recent (25 years) with a database
and analysis that are just emerging.
• Aerospace industry
– Relies heavily on aluminum and titanium alloys
• Automotive industry
– Relies heavily on steel and aluminum
• Al and titanium limitations
– Exposure to salt water and harsh environments causes corrosion
– Heavier than when compared to polymers, foam, and composites
– Low strain-to failure modes can cause permature failure
Smt Genap 2014 4
 06/07/2018

Historical of Using Composites

• 1940s and 1950s, aerospace industry looked at high
performance composites as replacement for steel .
– Early materials were glass fiber and polyester resin.
– Limited to non-structural applications.
– Resin and fibers developed and material systems matured.
– During the 1960s new fiber systems were developed for
structural components
• High strength glass fibers (S-901),
• Aramid (Kevlar 49), carbon and graphite systems
– Composite advantages
• High strength to weight and stiffness to weight due to low density
• Manufacturing ease and environmental resistance
• Low cost and design versatility: fiber placement for strength and
stiffness selectivity.

Smt Genap 2014 5

Mechanical Properties
• Traditional metal materials have homogeneous properties.
– The strength and modulus are the same no matter where the sample is
taken from. Ferrous (steel, iron) and non ferrous materials, (Al,Cu,Pb)
– If pieces were cut from different locations in a metal plate, the pieces
would have the same:
• Density, internal structure, tensile strength, modulus, elongation, impact, etc..
– If pieces were cut in one direction and then another one 90° from it,
the tensile strength, tensile modulus, impact and other properties
would be the same.
• Composite materials are made up of two or more distinct materials, one
for reinforcing and the other for holding the fibers together in a matrix.
• Composite materials have non-homogeneous properties and are called
inhomogeneous materials with anisotropic properties.
– Fibers are stronger in one direction than the other one due to aspect
ratio.
– The properties of the area around the resin is much lower than the
properties around the fiber.
Smt Genap 2014 6
 06/07/2018

Mechanical Properties
• Common anisotropic materials
– Plywood, reinforced concrete due to steel rebar.
• Composites are often fabricated with stronger properties in one
direction versus the other one, or have properties stronger in a
particular region.
– Fibers are placed with woven roving or fabric with fibers in
the 0° /90° direction, or fibers in the 40° /60° direction.
– Filament winding and lay-up composite sheet can result in a
composite with uni-directional properties.
– Samples of the composite are often taken in the 0° direction
and reported as maximum values.
• The tensile strengths and modulus are divided by the density of the
composite to give the specific strength and specific modulus

Smt Genap 2014 7

H1

Mechanical Properties of Composites

• Polymer composites are made up of a resin and a fiber
renforcement.
– Both contribute to the strength and stiffness of the
composite
• The higher the fiber % the higher the properties
• The more unidirectional the fiber, the higher the properties are in
that direction and the weaker they are in the transverse direction.
– Filament winding and prepreg tape have very high directional
properties
• Directional effects are minimized by having alternating fiber
angles
– Example, 0°/90° ply with +/-45° fiber ply.
• Fiber bonding to matrix is key to high strength properties.

Smt Genap 2014 8

Slide 8

H1 HP; 05/06/2017
 06/07/2018

Mechanical Properties of Composites

• Resin type
– Influences strength and thermal properties.
– Resin must flow through fiber mat, then into fiber bundle to wet fiber.
• Fiber type
– Yarn/Roving form that is woven into a glass sheet and then formed to shape
(preform)

Smt Genap 2014 9

Mechanical Properties of Composites

• Fiber type
– Different fibers have different strength, modulus, and strain at
failure
• Generally, the stiffer the fiber, the smaller the strain at failure.
• Fiber %
– The higher the fiber %, the higher the properties
• Fiber % for automotive is 35% by volume
• Fiber % for aerospace is 60% by volume
• Fiber orientation
– The more unidirectional the fiber the stronger the properties
are.

Smt Genap 2014 10

 06/07/2018

Mechanical Properties of Composites

• Fiber Orientation
– Carbon fiber is a high modulus pitch based fiber
– Unidirectional laminate with 60% fiber and epoxy resin tested along
the fibers (0°) and across the fibers (90°)
– Isotropic laminate has 0°, 30°, 60°, 90°, 120°, 150° stacking sequence
– Effect of orientation on carbon fiber properties
• Unidirectional had double the strength and triple the modulus as a quasi-
isotropic material
• Unidirectional material had 10% of the strength and 3% of the modulus in the
transverse direction as the quasi-isotropic laminate

Smt Genap 2014 11

Test Considerations
• Metal systems
– isotropic, linear, and elastic such that only a few tests are
required to obtain basic tensile stiffness properties that describe
the mechanical performance in most situations
– Only two values are needed: Tensile modulus (stiffness) and
poisson’s ratio (longitudinal strain divided by axial strain)
– Both are determined from the same tensile test
• Shear modulus (G) is related to shear strain () by Shear Stress :
 = G() or Shear Stress = Shear Modulus times strain

Smt Genap 2014 12

 06/07/2018

Mechanical Test Considerations

• Principle factors are in three main areas
– manner in which the load is applied
– condition of material specimen at time of test
– surrounding conditions (environment) during testing
• Tests classification- load application
– kind of stress induced. Single load or Multiple loads
– rate at which stress is developed: static versus dynamic
– number of cycles of load application: single versus fatigue

Smt Genap 2014 13

Mechanical Test Considerations

• Primary types of loading
tension compression Torsion (puntir)

Shear (geser)

Flexure (lentur)

Smt Genap 2014 14

 06/07/2018

Alat2 Uji Mekanik

Tensile Test
Pressure Test
Smt Genap 2014 15

Stress and Strain

Smt Genap 2014 16

 06/07/2018

Stress and Strain

Fatigue Properties
• Fatigue (Lelah, Capai)
– High performance composites were developed for aerospace applications because
Al has poor fatigue performance.
• Aircraft applications can have 106 to 108 load cycle range.
– Al and some steels falter (limbung) in this range
– Al has 10% fatigue endurance limit versus static values
» Aluminum will only be able to support 10% of the static load before
the fatigue test.
– Composites have 60% the static (one cycle) ultimate strength

• Fiber reinforced composites are more stable and

forgiving in fatigue applications and do well in fatigue
tests since a loss of a few failed fibers is not noticeable
to the overall strength of the fiber composite
 Axial compressive fatigue of graphite/epoxy
laminate
 Composites tend to stabilize early in fatigue
loading through the following mechanisms, each of
which absorbs energy or redirects the energy to
other parts of the composite

Smt Genap 2014 18

 06/07/2018

Vibration and Damping Properties

• Vibrations are often a natural consequence of stiffness
– For composites, the fiber stiffness is balanced with the matrix
resin plasticity
– Composites provide excellent properties for aircraft and missile
control surfaces where fast, rigid response is needed.
– Composites are less noisy and provide lower vibration
transmission than metals.
– Damping Properties
• Damping (lembab) in composites is due to microcracking,
internal tip blunting, matrix viscoelastic effects and plasticity.
• Damping capability of composites can be almost twice that of
some steels, and ten times better than aluminum and titanium
alloys.

Smt Genap 2014 19

Environmental Effects
• Composites are affected by thermal, moisture, fatigue, creep, and aging
(service life)
– For metals
• Environment attacks homogeneous material and not at interfaces, layers, and porous
regions
– For composites
• Environment attacks inhomogeneous material at interfaces, layers, and porous regions
• Temperature
– Often the most severe environmental effect
• Affects the entire service life of the composite
– Initially part is cured in molding operation and then post cured
– Max use temperature is usually the highest temperature the composite is exposed to
during molding or post cure
» If molded at 250F and not post cured, then the highest use temperature is 250F
» If molded at 250F and then post cured at 350F, then the use temp is 350F
» If molded at 600F (PEEK or Polyimids) then the use temp is 600F.
– Cure process generates some undesirable effects, e.g., creation of residual cure
stresses that can lead to porosity, microcracking, and delamination.
» To reduce these effects, reduce the cure temperature, reduce ramp temperature
during heating and cool-down processing cycles.
Smt Genap 2014 20
 06/07/2018

Environmental Effects
• Temperature (continued)
– Thermal cycling
• Solar radiation, daily temperature variations due to transportation, weather
conditions due to seasons and geography

• Moisture
– Composites absorb moisture through the matrix, the fiber, the fiber-matrix
interface, and porous regions or area where microcracking or delamination have
occurred
– Sample is submerged in water at a particular temperature and the amount of
water absorbed is measured for several days and weeks until saturation.
– Resins absorb moisture for the composite and results in
• Lower strengths, modulus, and microcracking
• Properties of composite materials are tested in the wet condition if product
will be used in a wet environment, e.g., submersible crafts
– Moisture barriers can be used, e.g., coatings, paints, vapor deposited metallic
layers, aluminum foil layers, grease seals, plastic film.

Smt Genap 2014 21

Environmental Effects
• Fatigue
– Composites perform well under fatigue loadings when compared
to metals, maintaining 60% of their ultimate tensile strength.
– Tension fatigue and stress rupture under tension loading have not
had a substantial effect on composite strength degradation.

• Creep Behavior
Deformasi Plastis yang terjadi sebagai akibat dari lingkungan yang
bertemperatur tinggi dan tegangan static yang tetap dalam kurun waktu
yang lama
Parameter dalam creep adalah:
1. Pengaruh waktu
2. Deformasi permanen dari materials
3. Beban tetap atau constan stress
4. Phenomena yang tidak diharapkan (undesireable phenomenon)
5. Batas usia komponen (the limiting factor in life of part)
6. Temperatur kerja untuk metal 0.4Tm (Tm = absolute melting temperature)

Smt Genap 2014 22

 06/07/2018

Environmental Effects
• Creep Behavior (continued)
– Fiber behaves in a rigid manner
– Resin is prone to creep or relax under load, especially at higher
temperatures or long durations
– For metals, creep isn’t important unless at temperatures above 400F
– For polymer matrix composites, creep can be an issue at temperatures
above 100F (for thermoplastics) and 200F (urethanes) and 300F
(epoxies)
– Creep is a result of the viscoelastic nature of polymers, but can be
offset (tanggulangi) by
• Fiber orientation in the direction of high loads to reduce creep loading
• Increased fiber content
• Select stiffer fibers
• Reduction of level of stress in the design
• Utilization of initial loading cycles to relieve residual stresses

Smt Genap 2014 23

Environmental Effects
• Aging/Service life considerations
– Typical composite structures are designed to survive 10 to
25 years
– Following steps help in design
• Define service environment in terms of exposure time
• Review database of materials for a match
• Conduct accelerated aging test
• Verify aging tests with real time aging on samples stored near
operational conditions
• Example: Pressure vessel with series of burst tests after exposure
to environmental conditions

Smt Genap 2014 24

 06/07/2018

Wassalam

Smt Genap 2014 25