FIBERS, MATRICES,

AND FABRICATION
OF COMPOSITES
ME- 723
D E PA R T M R N T O F M E C H A N I C A L A N D
A E R O S PA C E E N G I N E E R I N G
 OVERVIEW

 A broad overview of materials aspects of fiber

composites is presented in this chapter.
 Reinforcing fibers

 Matrix materials

 Composite fabrication processes

 ADVANCED FIBERS

 A great majority of materials are stronger and stiffer in

the fibrous form than as a bulk material.

 A high fiber aspect ratio (length-diameter ratio) permits

very effective transfer of load via matrix materials to the
fibers, thus taking advantage of their excellent
properties.

 Therefore, fibers are very effective and attractive

reinforcement materials.

 Reinforcing fibers used in advanced composites will be

discussed in this Lecture.
 Glass Fibers

 Advantages
 Low cost

 High Strength

 Disadvantages
 Poor abrasion resistance

 Poor adhesion to some polymer matrix resins

 Lower modulus compared with the other advanced
reinforcing fibers such as Kevlar, carbon, and boron.
 PRODUCTION OF GLASS FIBERS

 Continuous fiber
 Staple (discontinuous) fiber.

 Both forms are made by the same production

method up to the fiber-drawing stage.
 PRODUCTION OF GLASS FIBERS

 Ingredients are dry-mixed and melted in a refractory

furnace at about 1260˚C
 Sand
 Limestone
 Alumina

 Direct-melt process is used for drawing fibers.

PRODUCTION OF GLASS FIBERS
 PRODUCTION OF GLASS FIBERS

 These fibers then are gathered together into a

bundle of fibers called a strand or end.

 The fiberglass strand, typically consisting of 204

filaments, is then wound onto a receiving package
(spool) at speeds of up to 50 m/s.

 This "cake" is then conditioned or dried prior to

further processing into other textile forms.
 PRODUCTION OF GLASS FIBERS

 Staple fibers are produced by passing a jet of air

across the orifices in the base of the bushing, thus
pulling individual filaments 20-40 cm long from the
molten glass exiting from each orifice.

 These fibers are collected on a rotating vacuum

drum, sprayed with a binder, and gathered as a
"sliver" that can be drawn and twisted into yams.
 PRODUCTION OF GLASS FIBERS

 Glass Composition and Properties Glass fibers are

amorphous solids.

 Chemically, glass is composed primarily of a silica (Si02)

backbone in the form of (-Si04-)n tetrahedra.

 Modifier ions are added for their contribution to glass

properties and manufacturing capability.

 For structural composites, the two commonly used types of

glass fiber are
 E-glass
 S-glass.
GLASS FIBERS
GLASS FIBERS
 Surface Treatment of Fibers

 Temporary sizes
 Compatible sizes
 Temporary sizes

 Minimize the degradation of strength

 These sizes are often starch-oil sizes.

 Ingredients of starch-oil sizes interfere with good bonding

between the fibers and impregnating resin.

 Oil, emulsifying agent, and lubricant prevent good fiber

wetting by the resin, and the starch, gelatin, and
polyvinyl alcohol result in high water absorption and poor
fiber-resin adhesion in the presence of moisture.
 Temporary sizes

 Sizes of this type must be removed and replaced by

a finish (coupling agent) before the fibers can be
impregnated with resin.

 The sizes are easily removed by heating the fibers in

an air-circulating oven at 340°C or higher
temperatures for 15-20 h.
 Compatible sizes

 The compatible sizes are applied to help improve

initial adhesion of resin to glass and to reduce the
destructive effects of water and other environmental
forces on this bond.

 The compatible sizes are often called coupling

agents.

 The most common coupling agents are

organofunctional silanes.
 Compatible sizes

 Silane coupling agents have the general chemical

formula

where n = 0 - 3
Y = organofunctional group that is compatible
with polymer matrix
X = hydrolyzable group on silicon
 Compatible sizes

 They are generally applied to glass fibers from water solutions

and applied from 0.1-0.5% of the weight of glass treated.

 The hydrolyzable groups are essential for generating

intermediate silanols as follows:

 A silanol is a functional group in silicon chemistry with the

connectivity Si–O–H. It is related to the hydroxy functional
group (C–O–H) found in all alcohols. Silanols are often
invoked as intermediates in organosilicon chemistry and
silicate mineralogy. If a silanol contains one or more organic
residue, it is an organosilanol.
 Compatible sizes

 A common silane used for epoxy matrix composites

is y-amino propyl triethoxy silane and has the
structure
 Compatible sizes

 The silanol functional group establishes hydrogen bonds

with the glass surface through hydroxyl (-OH) groups
present on the glass surface.

 The organofunctional group may react with the polymer

matrix, forming strong covalent bonds, and/ or may form
physical bonds or van der Waals bonds.

 Although the coupling agent may have three reactive

silanols per molecule, if the reactive sites on a glass
surface are spaced far apart, only one silanol group per
molecule may bond to the surface.
 Compatible sizes

 The remaining silanol groups may condense with

adjacent silanols to form a siloxane layer or may
remain partly uncondensed at the surface.
 Forms of Glass Fiber

 FIBERGLASS ROVING
 Fiberglass roving is a collection of parallel continuous ends of
filaments.

 Conventional rovings are produced by winding together the

number of single strands necessary to achieve the desired
yield (number of meters of roving per kilogram of weight).

 Generally, rovings are made with fibers of diameter 9 or 13

μm. Roving yields vary from about 3600 to 4500 m/kg and
typically have 20 strands.

 Rovings are used directly in pultrusion, filament winding, and

prepreg manufacture.
FIBERGLASS ROVING
WOVEN ROVING
 Chopped-Strand Mat and Other Mats

 There are three basic forms of fiber glass mat:

 Chopped-strand mat
 Continuous-strand mat
 Surfacing mat or veil

 Chopped-strand mat is a nonwoven material in which

the fiberglass strands from roving are chopped into 25-
50-mm lengths, evenly distributed at random onto a
horizontal plane, and bound together with an
appropriate chemical binder.

 These mats are available in widths of from 5 cm to 2 m

and weigh 0.25-0.92 kg/m 2•
Chopped-Strand Mat and Other Mats
 YARN

 A yam is a combination of strands that can be woven

suitably into textile materials.
 The continuous, individual strand as it comes from
the bushing represents the simplest form of textile
fiberglass yarn and is referred to as a single yarn.
 In order for this yarn to be used properly and
efficiently in a weaving operation, additional strand
integrity is introduced by twisting it slightly, usually
less than 40 turns per meter.
 FABRIC

 Fiberglass yarn is woven into fabric by standard

textile operations.
 The properties and contribution to product
performance of fiberglass fabric depend on the fabric
construction, that is, the number of yams per inch in
each direction, weave pattern, and yarn type.
 CHOPPED-STRAND MILLED FIBERS

 Continuous fiberglass strands can be chopped to

specific lengths or hammer-milled into very short
fiber lengths (generally 0.4-6.5 mm).

 The actual lengths are determined by the diameter of

the screen openings through which the fibers pass
during the milling.

 Milled fibers are used as reinforcements and fillers

for thermoplastic and thermosetting resins.
TEXTILE FIBERGLASS YARN
CARBON FIBERS
 Carbon and Graphite Fibers

 Properties
 High-strength
 High-modulus

 Applications
 High-performance polymer-matrix composites

 Their use is growing rapidly owing to a significant reduction in

their price in the 1990s and an increase in their availability.

 Besides aerospace applications, they are now being used in

sporting goods, automotive, civil infrastructure, offshore oil,
and many other consumer applications.
Carbon and Graphite Fibers
 Carbon and Graphite Fibers

 Strictly speaking, the term "graphite fibers" is a misnomer

because there is no true graphite crystal structure in the
fibers.

 The term "graphite fiber" is used to describe fibers that

have a carbon content in excess of 99%, whereas the
term "carbon fiber" describes fibers that have a carbon
content of 80-95%.

 The carbon content is a function of the heat-treatment

temperature.
 Carbon and Graphite Fibers

 As indicated previously, the principle of using the

carbon fibre approach to make carbon materials
stronger is to utilise the strong covalent bonds within
the aromatic sheets in graphite structure.

 The theoretical Young’s modulus of the aromatic

sheet in the layer direction is 1020 GPa while the
theoretical strength in that direction is approximately
1/10 of the modulus, i.e., ≈ 100 GPa.
 Carbon and Graphite Fibers

 This is the potential mechanical properties which

could be offered by carbon materials.

 How much has the potential been explored in

modern carbon fibre technology?

 Currently the best high modulus carbon fibres have a

modulus close to the theoretical modulus. The
Young’s modulus of commercial P-120 carbon fibres
produced from mesophase pitch is 820 GPa.
 Carbon and Graphite Fibers

 However the strength of carbon fibres is far from the

theoretical strength.

 The tensile strength of high strength carbon fibres is only

3 - 4% of the theoretical strength.

 The key problem associating with the development of

carbon fibres is that the current approach for the
fabrication of carbon fibres results in either high strength
type or high modulus type products but can’t achieve
both high strength and modulus in one product.
Carbon and Graphite Fibers
 Carbon and Graphite Fibers

 Carbon fibres are produced from organic materials

by a carbonisation / graphitisation process.

 Aromatic sheets are progressively formed as the

temperature increases.

 At a graphitisation temperature over 2000 K, almost

perfect aromatic sheets and 3-D stacked graphitic
layered structures are formed.
 PRODUCTION PROCESS

 Thermal decomposition of various organic

precursors usually.

 Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)
 Pitch
 Rayon.
 PRODUCTION PROCESS

 Properties required

 Appropriate strength and handling characteristics

 Precursor should not melt during any stage of the conversion process.

 Precursor material must not volatilize completely during the pyrolysis

process;

 The carbon atoms should tend to array themselves in an aligned

graphite structure during pyrolysis.

 Precursor material should be as inexpensive as possible.

 Graphite Fibers from PAN

 The process by which PAN is converted to carbon

fibers involves five steps
1. Spinning the PAN into a precursor fiber.

2. Stretching the precursor.

3. Stabilization by holding the prestretched polymer under

tension at a temperature of 205-240°C for up to 24 h in an
oxidizing atmosphere (air).
 Graphite Fibers from PAN

4. Carbonization at approximately 1500°C in an inert atmosphere.

Carbonization is the process of pyrolizing stabilized PAN fibers to drive
out most (if not all) noncarbon elements of the precursor fibers until
they are essentially transformed into carbon fibers. It is during this
stage that the high mechanical properties found in most commercially
available carbon fibers are developed.

5. Graphitization at approximately 3000°C in inert atmosphere.

Graphitization heat treatments are carried out at temperatures in
excess of 1800°C in order to improve the tensile modulus of elasticity of
the fiber by improving the crystallite structure and preferred orientation
of the graphite like crystallite within each individual fiber.
 Carbon and Graphite Fibers

 Extension introduced during melt spin and high temperature

treatment gives rise to preferred orientation of these graphite sheets
in the fibre direction.

 It is easy to understand that close to theoretical modulus can be

obtained in such a structure.

 However, the individual aromatic sheets in the fibres are not

infinitely large.

 The lack of inter-connection between the aromatic sheets leads to a

relatively low strength. This is the reason that high modulus carbon
fibres do not possess high strength. In order to achieve high
strength, links between the aromatic sheets have to be introduced.
Graphite Fibers from PAN
Graphite Fibers from PAN
 Properties of Carbon Fibers

 Carbon fibers produced from each precursor have distinct advantages and
drawbacks in terms of both cost and properties.

 The PAN-based carbon fibers

 Lower in cost
 Good properties
 Military aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft structures.

 Pitch-based carbon fibers

 Higher stiffness
 Higher thermal conductivities
 Used in satellite structures and thermal-management applications, such as
space radiators and electronic enclosures.

 Rayon-based carbon fibers

 Are not used for structural applications
 Their low thermal conductivity makes them useful for insulating and ablative
applications such as rocket nozzles, missile reentry vehicle nosecones, and
heat shields
Properties of Carbon Fibers
 FORMS OF CARBON FIBRES

 Carbon fibers are available in various forms:

 Continuous

 Chopped

 Woven fabric

 Mat

 Tows

 Yarn

 Rovings

 Tape
FORMS OF CARBON FIBRES
FORMS OF CARBON FIBRES
 Aramid Fibers

 Various types of polymer fibers (e.g., nylon,

polyester, rayon) have been in use for many years
as reinforcements in automobile tires, large balloons
and dirigibles, body armor, and rubber-coated
fabrics.

 Polymer-aramid fibers (Kevlar) were first introduced

in 1971.
Aramid Fibers
 Aramid Fibers

 The aramid fiber-forming polymers, that is, the aromatic

polyamides, are made by solution-polycondensation of
diamines and diacid halides at low temperatures.

 The polymers are spun from strong acid solutions (e.g.,

concentrated H2S04) by a dry-jet wet spinning process.

 The polymers are made by rapidly adding a diacid

chloride to a cool (5-10°C) amine solution while stirring
 Aramid Fibers

 The polymer thus formed is recovered from the

crumbs or gel by pulverizing, washing, and drying.

 To form filaments, the clean polymer, mixed with a

strong acid, is extruded from spinnerets at an
elevated temperature (51-100°C) through a 0.5-1.9
cm layer of air into cold water (0-4°C).

 The fibers are then washed thoroughly in water and

dried on bobbins.
 PROPERTIES

 Tensile strength and modulus are substantially higher

 Fiber elongation is significantly lower than other organic fibers.

 Kevlar fibers have poor characteristics in compression, with

compressive strength being only one-eighth the tensile strength.

 This results from their anisotropic structure, which permits rather

easy local yielding, buckling, and kinking of the fiber in
compression.

 They are not as brittle as glass or graphite fibers and can be readily
woven on conventional fabric looms.
PROPERTIES
FORMS
 BORON FIBERS

 Boron filaments are produced by chemical vapor

deposition (CVD) from the reduction of boron
trichloride (BCl3) with hydrogen on a tungsten or
carbon monofilament substrate.

 The substrate is resistively heated to a temperature

of 1260°C and pulled continuously through a reactor
to obtain the desired boron coating thickness
 BORON FIBERS

 Currently, boron filaments are produced with

diameters of 100, 140, and 200 μm (4, 5.6, and 8
mils), in descending order of production quantity;
however, both smaller- and larger-diameter fibers
have been produced in experimental quantities.

 The tensile strength of boron-tungsten filaments has

improved steadily over the past decade from an
average of under 2750 MPa to over 3445 MPa.
 BORON FIBERS

 The tensile strength of boron-tungsten filaments can

be increased by etching away part of the outer
portion of the filament.

 This improvement in tensile strength is attributed to

the decrease in residual tensile stresses at the inner
surface in the core owing to removal of the outer
region of the filament, which contains a compressive
residual stress.
BORON FIBERS
BORON FIBERS
 Other Fibers

 The need for high-temperature reinforcing fibers has

led to the development of ceramic fibers.

 The ceramic fibers combine high strength and elastic

modulus with high-temperature capability and a
general freedom from environmental attack.

 Commonly used fibers are:

 Alumina fibers

 Silicon carbide fibers

 Alumina Fibers

 Alumina fibers marketed by Du Pont with the trade name "Fiber FP"
are a continuous aalumina yarn with a 98% theoretical density.

 These fibers are made by spinning of an aqueous slurry and a two-

step firing.

 As-produced Fiber FP surface is very rough.

 A thin silica coating enhances tensile strength by about 50%.

 An excellent feature of Fiber FP is its strength retention at high

temperatures.

 They retain strength up to about 1370°C.

Alumina Fibers
 Silicon Carbide (SiC) fibers

 Silicon carbide (SiC) fibers are produced by a

chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, as well as
by controlled pyrolysis of a polymeric precursor.

 Silicon carbide fibers retain tensile strength well

above 650°C.
 Applications

 Alumina and SiC fibers are suitable for reinforcing

metal matrices, in which carbon and boron fibers
exhibit adverse reactivities.

 In addition, alumina has an inherent resistance to

oxidation that is desirable in applications such as
gas-turbine blades.
 High-Performance Polyethylene (HPPE) Fibers

 Ultrastrong and highmodulus fibers can be produced

from the polyethylene molecule.

 For this purpose, an ultra-high-molecular-weight

polyethylene (UHMW-PE) is dissolved in a solvent,
spun through a spinneret, and cooled to obtain
filaments.

 These PE filaments have an ultrahigh molecular

weight and a low degree of molecular entanglement
and are capable of being superdrawn.
 High-Performance Polyethylene (HPPE) Fibers

 The PE fibers thus obtained have very long

molecular chains, oriented and crystallized in the
fiber direction, that together impart exceptional
properties to the fibers.

 These fibers are called high-performance

polyethylene (HPPE), high-modulus polyethylene
(HMPE), or extended-chain polyethylene (ECPE)
fibers.
High-Performance Polyethylene (HPPE) Fibers