Mechanics of Advanced Composite Structures

Mechanics of Advanced Composite Structures

Influence of Basalt/Carbon/Steel Fibers Addition on Flexural and Vibration Characteristics of Epoxy Granite

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kasegaon Education Society's Rajarambapu Institute of Technology, affiliated to Shivaji University, Sakhrale, Maharastra, India.
Abstract
Large scale efforts have been made to produce the composites for machine tool structural parts alternative to cast iron and steel etc. This paper presents the comprehensive approach to investigate flexural and vibration characteristics by experimental study and its validation by the finite element analysis of epoxy granite added with different fibers. The three kinds of short fibers viz. basalt, carbon and steel fibers were added separately to form three composites such as BFREG, CFREG and SFREG respectively. The volume ratios of granite particles, epoxy resin, and short fibers were fixed to 75%, 20% and 5% respectively. The test specimens were prepared and examined in density tests, 3-point flexural tests and vibration tests. The finite element(FE) modal analysis was performed to determine the numerical frequencies and mode shapes. The study demonstates that the fibers used in the composites significantly influences the flexural and vibration characteristics. The BFREG and SFREG exhibit the excellent flexural and vibration performances respectively. The mean damping ratio of the SFREG is 37% and 118% greater than BFREG and CFREG respectively. The lower standard deviations highlight the consistency of experimental results. The close agreement of experimental and numerical results validates the numerical model.
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