Finite element and micromechanical modeling for investigating effective material properties of polymer–matrix composite and generation of water absorption profile experimentally

Abstract

The present investigation consists of two parts where the first part contains the investigation of the elastic property of polymer composite which is helpful in structural design and then application of this composite as in case of boat hulls and also in case of other automotive parts and aerospace industry, which generally face different water conditions during operation. In the backdrop of this, I have considered three water situations: seawater, acidic water, and distilled water. The effect of varying diameter and volume fraction on the property of composite have been presented using FEA(Abaqus) and Analytical methods which results in an improvement of the property by increasing the value of diameter and volume fraction. The main aim of this article is to relate the value of the analytical method with the computational results to obtain the best property. It seems that GFRP composite is the most effective if the load acts along the direction of fiber. There is a good agreement between FEA and Analytical results. Nielsen elastic model showed large variation after 60% volume fraction. The water absorption effect on composites is studied. Different water conditions are as follows: seawater, acidic water, and distilled water. This test is done on room temperature and elevated temperature during the different time intervals. From the results, it was observed that the pattern of water absorption resembles non-Fickian. Maximum moisture content value (Mm) values are 11.855. Mostly, the application of this research is in the case of Boat hulls (flat, round, multi, vee, etc.) which generally faces these types of water. So, the design of Boat hulls, automotive parts, aerospace vehicle parts etc., should be based on acidic water. © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.