CCB 4423

POLYMER PROCESS ENGINEERING

LAB REPORT
EXPERIMENT 3: Composite
Group 6
Members:

ID:

CHOO EE HUEY

18510

SARVEEN MAHENDRAN

18284

KONG KAH SHIN

17478

IZZUDDIN BIN JAMALUDDIN

17456

INTRODUCTION
Composite is defined as a material composed of two or more different
materials, with the properties of the resultant material being superior to the properties
of the individual materials that make up the composite. Composites are made from
matrices of epoxy, unsaturated polyester and some other thermosets, and a few
thermoplastics. The reinforcements are glass, graphite, metal, and ceramic.
Hand lay-up is an open contact molding in one-sided molds are the lowest-cost
and most common processes for making fiberglass composite products and is the most
common method of producing composites materials.

Figure 1: Hand lay-up Process

Although epoxy resins are very attractive due to their high strength, stiffness,
high temperature resistance, low volatility and good adhesion to metal and ceramic, as
organic polymers, they are very vulnerable to the absorption of surrounding media of
either liquid or gasses which can diffuse into the polymer matrix causing a reduction
of their mechanical properties. Therefore, determination of water absorption will be
carried out.

OBJECTIVE

Be able to justify the composition and the properties of the materials

Be able to analyze the water absorption of each composite materials

METHODOLOGY
Procedure
The mold (glass) was first waxed.
The fiber glass mat was cut and 2 pieces of fiber glass mat were laid
into the mold.
Epoxy with molecular weight EPOLAM 50, Mw - 700 g/mol and
diamine with MW 448 g/mol were mixed until it reached the gel time.
o The ratio of difunctional epoxy/diamine is 20/6.4 (wt/wt).
The epoxy resin was poured onto the fiber glass and the composite was
flattened using roller and wait around 10 minutes.
The composite was cut into 4 samples with size of 50mm x 50mm x
3mm.
2 samples were allowed to react at room temperature for 24 hours and
another 2 to react at 120C for 2 hours in the oven.
Water absorption
The percentage of water absorption is characterized using gravimetric method.
All samples must be polish to ensure a flat surface
Obtain their initial weights at room temperature.
Measure the dimension of each sample, average of thickness, length
and width at room temperature before immersion.
Immerse the samples in water at room temperature and 50C and then
periodically remove from the water bath, wipe with tissue paper, and
weigh before immersing the samples again. These steps to be repeated
for one week period.
The amount of water absorbed by the sample is then calculated using
the following equation

Mt (%) =

Wt W0
W0

x 100

Mt is water content at any given time, Wt is sample weight at the time

of measurement, Wo is initial sample weight.

RESULTS
Sample

Curing Temperature, C

Water Absorption Temperature, C

A
B
C

120
120
25

25
50
25

25

50

Water Absorption at room temperature

Sampl

Weight

Weight

Weight

Weight

Weight (day

e
A
C

(day 0),g
2.396
3.030

(day 1),g
2.521
3.213

(day 5),g
2.582
3.263

(day 6),g
2.596
3.284

7),g
2.607
3.294

Sample
Mt (%), day 1
A
5.22
C
6.04
Water Absorption at 50oC

Mt (%), day 5
7.38
7.25

Mt (%), day 6
7.98
7.78

Mt (%), day 7
8.42
8.28

Sampl

Weight

Weight

Weight

Weight

Weight (day

e
B
D

(day 0),g
2.361
2.559

(day 1),g
2.496
2.685

(day 5),g
2.562
2.756

(day 6),g
2.574
2.784

7),g
2.581
2.796

Sample
B
D

Mt (%), day 1
5.72
4.92

Mt (%), day 5
8.05
7.34

Mt (%), day 6
8.31
8.16

Mt (%), day 7
8.55
8.51

DISCUSSION
1. Write down your observation. Explain how the curing temperature may affect the
water absorption of epoxy resin.

The results has been shown that the composite material which was curing in
temperature (120 oC), absorbed more water than the material which was curing at
room temperature. The structure of the composite material which was curing at 120
o

C, gave higher free volume to absorb than the composite material which was curing

at room temperature. The composite materials which immersed at temperature 50 oC in

water bath, the one which absorbed more water is the curing at 120 oC, compared with
the curing at room temperature. Hence, the temperature also effect to the water
absorption. The materials immersed in higher temperature will absorb more water,
comparing to the lower temperature. In summary, the higher temperature which used
to cures the epoxy resin affected more water absorption. The reason is that when the
resin is cured with higher temperature, the density will be decreased. Hence, there is
more free volume of epoxy resin which will allow more water to be absorbed through
the layer of resin.

2. Explain how the arrangement of fiber can affect the modulus and strength of
composite materials.
Glass fibers are available in several forms: roving (continuous strand), chopped
strand, woven fabrics, continuous-strand mat, chopped-strand mat, and milled fibers.
The longer fibers provide the greater strength; continuous fibers are the strongest.
Whereas shorter fibers provide lower strength and modulus compared to longer
continuous fibers. Carbon fibers in composites can be long and continuous, or short
and fragmented, and they can be directionally or randomly oriented. In general,
multidirectional arrangement will decrease strength of composite in any directions
compared to one-directional fiber but when it is parallel, matrix-dominated failures
will be produced and hence resulting little reinforcement.

3. Explain how the curing temperature may affect the water absorption and other
mechanical properties.
After conducting this experiment, it is postulated that when a sample is cured at a

higher temperature, the density of the epoxy resin material decreases due to internal
structural expansion. Thus, the epoxy sample cured at a higher temperature has higher
water adsorption rate compared to the epoxy sample cured at room temperature.
Besides structural expansion, the tensile strength and the elastic modulus of the epoxy
structure cured at the higher temperature are also reduced. Internal expansion is also
attributed to the degradation of the interaction between the epoxy structural matrix
and the fibre glass. Additionally, greater amorphous structure will be formed in the
material composition as the curing time of the samples is increased, which will
increase the rate of water absorption and mechanical properties of the sample.

4. Using the literature values, obtain the density and modulus for DGEBA epoxy resin
and fiber glass (E-Glass). Calculate the theoretical modulus of your composite
sample. (using the known volume, and known density of epoxy, calculate the
theoretical weight of epoxy without fibers.)
For DGEBA epoxy resin, the density is 1.16 g/cm^3 and the modulus 2.08 GPa.
As for the fiber glass (E-glass), the density is 2540 kg/m^3 and the modulus is 72.4
GPa.
Theoretical modulus (theoretical weight):
Volume of epoxy: 50mm * 50mm * 3mm = 7500 mm3 = 7.5 cm3
Theoretical weight of epoxy: Density * Volume = 1.16 g/cm3 * 7.5 cm3
= 8.7 g

5. What are the advantages of using thermoset as matrix as compared to

thermoplastic?
Thermoset resins are more conventional choices as they are liquid at room
temperature when uncured. Additionally, this property enables easier reinforcement
with fibers at minimal pressure to form various materials such as carbon fiber, fibre
glass, Kevlar, and etc. When the fibres are impregnated with the thermoset resins,
chemical curing is carried out at constant temperature to form a solid and sturdy
structure. Thermoplastic, on the other hand, exist as a solid structure and thus require

continuous heating up to the melting point of the material to form a liquid state.
Besides that, the fibres will require high pressure to be impregnated with the
thermoplastic resin and have to be cooled under the same high pressure to form a
stable composite structure. This method requires specific and advanced tooling for the
manufacturing process, as the process is quite complex and will result in incurring a
high cost for the production.
6. Which one is more suitable for making aircraft body, epoxy/glass or epoxy/carbon
fibers? Explain your answer.
Epoxy/carbon fibers is a more suitable material to manufacture aircraft body
compared to epoxy/glass. This is because epoxy/fibers are extremely strong and light
whereby they are made up of long and fine carbon fibers building blocks. These
carbon fibers are immersed in an epoxy matrix. The epoxy is stiff and rigid in its
cured state in which the carbon fibers are held in place relative to each other by the
epoxy thus resulting in high intensity of compressive strength whereas the fibers will
contribute to the tensile strength. The bond which exists between the fiber and epoxy
matrix plays a pivotal role in the transfer of stress in the composite. Epoxy/carbon
fibers can be either randomly or directionally oriented.
7. Give ONE application of composite material based on glass, carbon and aramide
fibers. Explain your answer.
Application of composite material based on glass fibers:
E glass is widely used as the material for electrical insulation. It possesses a
combination of desirable properties such as excellent strength property, high heat
resistance, low dielectric constant as well as low moisture absorption. These
characteristics enables it to become an ideal material to be used as reinforcement for
insulating varnishes and printed circuit boards.
Application of composite material based on carbon fibers:
Carbon fibers are generally used in the medical applications attributed to its
radiolucent properties in which it is transparent to X-rays. It possesses sufficient
strength and stiffness capable of maintain the critical dimensions under load. This

enable it to sustain over time and does not break down after high doses of x-ray and
gamma ray radiation. It is widely applied in imaging equipment structures in order to
support limbs to be X-rayed.
Application of composite material based on aramide fibers:
Aramide fibers are used in construction applications since they have high
strength/weight ratio enabling them to become an ideal material for reinforcing
purpose. They are used to manufacture fiber-reinforced concrete as well as
thermoplastic pipes. With the invention and adaptation of thermoplastic pipes
technology, corrosion issues of undersea pipelines in the oil industry can be deterred.

CONCLUSION
The preparation of the composites of epoxy and diamine was carried out according to
the procedures and the process conditions needed. Water absorption properties of the
composites prepared at varying curing temperature were studied. From the results
obtained, the water absorptions of composites are significantly affected by the curing
temperature. Higher curing temperature enables the composites to exhibit better water
absorption ability compared to at lower temperature. Thus, it is highly recommended
to prepare the composites at high curing temperature in order to produce composites
which exhibit good mechanical strength.