Experimental investigations of moisture diffusion and mechanical properties of interply rearrangement of glass/Kevlar-based hybrid composites under cryogenic environment

Abstract

Glass fibre-based composite materials are used in various current applications like aerospace, marine, defence, energy, etc. As a result, scientists worldwide began thinking about creating a new composite and expanding the possibilities for these materials. At the same time, glass fibre-reinforced polymer composites are mechanically weaker than Kevlar fibre-reinforced polymer composites. The mechanical characteristics of saltwater-aged glass fibre degrade faster than Kevlar. Furthermore, because of its significant expense, Kevlar is not economically feasible for many kinds of uses. As a result, the hybridization of Kevlar fibre with glass fibre is required to overcome the fragility of glass fibre-reinforced composite materials for maritime applications. This study revealed the hybridization effect of glass/Kevlar fibres in a liquid nitrogen environment (77K). Five different types of composites (Type I (G-G-G-G-G-G), Type II (G-G-K-K-G-G), Type III (G-K-G-G-K-G), Type IV (K-G-G-G-G-K), and Type V (K–K–K–K–K–K)) were created by altering the stacking order. As per the ASTM standard, the void content, water diffusivity, and mechanical parameters such as bending, tension, and impact strength were calculated. Hybrid composites have superior mechanical properties, and their lack of catastrophic failures may allow them to be used in marine and high-humidity environmental remediation. Type II hybrid composites have a maximum tensile strength of 333.25 MPa under cryogenic conditions. In contrast, type IV has the most excellent bending and impact strengths of 460.58 MPa and 152.11 kJ/m2. Compared to 15 and 45 min cryogenic treatments, the 30-min cryogenic treatments provided better mechanical strength.

Keywords

• Moisture diffusion
• Mechanical properties
• Cryogenic conditions
• Liquid nitrogen
• Glass fiber
• Kevlar fiber