Microstructure and stiffness analysis of a new ternary melamine-formaldehyde composite

Autor: C. Klason, P.-O. Hagstrand, Rodney Rychwalski
Rok vydání: 1998
Předmět:
Zdroj: Polymer Engineering & Science. 38:1324-1336
ISSN: 1548-2634
0032-3888
DOI: 10.1002/pen.10303
Popis: A new ternary planar random fiber composite manufactured under the name RMC (Reinforced Melamine Compound) is studied. Microstructure and stiffness of the random glass fiber-reinforced and particulate-filled melamine-formaldehyde composite processed by compression molding from RMC molding compounds are analyzed. Glass fiber bundles in a mixture of melamine-formaldehyde resin with various size of filler particulates outside the bundle space, and small size particulates inside the bundle space are found from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical micrographs. The tensile modulus of the particulate-filled matrix is modeled using equations of Halpin and Tsai, and Lewis and Nielsen. The tensile modulus of the resin/filler/fiber composite is calculated using the Halpin-Tsai equation followed by a randomization procedure employing the averaging concept of Nielsen and Chen. Fiber bundles rather than single fibers are assumed as the reinforcing unit. Parameter ϵ representing the reinforcing efficiency is discussed for the case of stiffness in the direction transverse to the bundles orientation. Predicted values of the tensile modulus are in good agreement with experimental results for various compositions. Different resin/filler/fiber compositions are characterized using the calculated tensile modulus values together with merit indices introduced for the purpose of tailoring the composite toward minimized weight and material cost.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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