Mechanical Properties of Continuous Natural Fibres (Jute, Hemp, Flax) Reinforced Polypropylene Composites Modified with Hollow Glass Microspheres

Habib Awais,Yasir Nawab,A. Anjang,Hazizan Md Akil,M. Shukur Zainol Abidin 한국섬유공학회 2020 Fibers and polymers Vol.21 No.9

Natural fibre reinforced polymer (NFRP) composites are emerging as a viable alternative to metal parts forlightweight components in the automotive and aerospace industry. They are economical and eco-friendly, but their use isconfined due to their performance properties. Currently, fillers are often incorporated in NFRP composites to modify theirproperties. This study explores the reinforcing effects of hollow glass microspheres (HGM) as fillers in continuous NFRPcomposites. Continuous NFRP laminates were fabricated using woven fabrics (jute, hemp, flax, polypropylene) and HGMwith compression moulding. Tensile, flexural and impact tests were conducted to investigate the influence of HGM on themechanical properties of these laminates. The results indicate that the loading of 1.5 % HGM improves the tensile andflexural properties, but further addition of HGM (3 %) leads to a decline in these properties; furthermore, the impact strengthwas significantly improved (17 %, 8 %, 24 %) in jute, hemp and flax laminates, respectively by the addition of 3 % HGM.

Comparison of Mechanical Behavior of Biaxial, Unidirectional and Standard Woven Fabric Reinforced Composites

Usman Ahmed,Asra Tariq,Yasir Nawab,Khubab Shaker,Zubair Khaliq,Muhammad Umair 한국섬유공학회 2020 Fibers and polymers Vol.21 No.6

The conventional woven fabrics (plain, twill, satin, etc.) have yarn undulations, that may lead to the fibre breakageand loss of mechanical strength. This problem was resolved using unidirectional woven structures having straight yarns, butthey provide strength in one direction only. A possible solution is the use of biaxial fabric having yarns at ±45 o asreinforcement, but its fabrication cost is too high. The current study focussed on the development of a composite materialusing conventional fabrics having comparable properties with biaxial fabric composites. Three different reinforcements(plain, twill and unidirectional) were prepared using glass fibre. For composite fabrication, plies were cut, stacked at ±45 oand infused with unsaturated polyester resin to produce a composite equivalent to the biaxial composite. Similarly, thestitched composites were also fabricated by stitching the similar stack (using chain stitch class 101) before impregnating withresin. Laminated composites from biaxial fabric (both stitched and unstitched) were also produced for comparison. All thesecomposites were characterised for tensile and impact properties. The tensile strength of stitched unidirectional compositeswas higher as compared to the other woven and biaxial structures. Similarly, the impact strength was also higher for stitchedunidirectional composite. Hence, the ±45 o stacked unidirectional composite may be used as a potential replacement of biaxialcomposite.

Effect of Pile Height on the Mechanical Properties of 3D Woven Spacer Composites

Muhammad Umair,Syed Talha Ali Hamdani,Yasir Nawab,Muhammad Ayub Asghar,Tanveer Hussain,Abdelghani Saouab 한국섬유공학회 2019 Fibers and polymers Vol.20 No.6

Three-dimensional (3D) woven spacer fabric is produced by connecting two woven fabric layers with the verticalpile yarns in the center part. Their composites have great potential for use in construction, automotive, marine, and aerospaceapplications due to outstanding mechanical properties. In this paper, 3D woven spacer fabrics with three thickness levels(4 mm, 10 mm and 20 mm) made of E-glass fibre, were used. Then 3D woven spacer fabrics were fabricated into theircorresponding composites by hand lay-up technique using green epoxy resin. Characterization was done at both stages i.e. fabric and composite. Bending length and modulus of 3D woven spacer fabrics were decreased while the stiffness of thefabric was increased with increase in sample thickness. While in 3D woven spacer composites, 20 mm thick composite wasmore needle penetration resistant as compared to the 10 mm and 4 mm thick composites. Flexural and slow velocity impactperformance of the 3D woven spacer composites was reduced with the increase of sample thickness. Flexural behaviour wasbetter in weft direction as compared to the warp direction in all samples. Furthermore, 4 mm thick composite showed thehighest value of energy absorbed and least deformation during the drop weight impact test.

Optimization of Flame Retardancy & Mechanical Performance of Jute-glass/Epoxy Hybrid Composites

Muhammad Umair,Ayesha Shahbaz,Ahsan Ahmad,Sohaib Arif,Khubab Shaker,Madeha Jabbar,Yasir Nawab 한국섬유공학회 2022 Fibers and polymers Vol.23 No.10

One of the limiting factors of natural fiber composites is their lower flame retardancy (FR) and mechanicalstrength as compared to the glass and other synthetic fiber composites. In this research, FR and mechanical properties of thehybrid jute-glass/epoxy composites were optimized. In the first part, different percentages (1 %, 2 % & 3 %) of zirconiumphosphate (ZrP) particles were mixed in epoxy resin to optimize the flame retardancy and mechanical properties of jute/epoxy composites. 3 % ZrP loaded composite showed improved FR and mechanical (tensile and impact) properties followedby 2 % and 1 % respectively. In the second part, optimized percentage of ZrP particles (3 %) was used to fabricate two (02)jute-glass hybrid epoxy composites, and their mechanical (tensile, flexural and impact) and FR properties were evaluated. Hybrid (H1) samples showed better mechanical and FR properties due to presence of glass layer on the outer side ofcomposite with 3 % ZrP particles loading.

Effect of Fabric Structure on the Performance of 3D Woven Pressure Sensor

Khubab Shaker,Muhammad Umair,Syed Talha Ali Hamdani,Yasir Nawab 한국섬유공학회 2021 Fibers and polymers Vol.22 No.3

The textile-based pressure sensors are an integral part of the wearable electronic textiles, that helps to measure thepressure/load applied to the sensor. These sensors are used predominantly for health and sports application, especially tomonitor the blood pressure, heart rate or performance of muscles during exercise. The work done in this research is about theinvestigation of the response of a 3D woven fabric-based pressure sensor by varying the yarn interlacement pattern in 3layered fabric. Four samples were produced using a 3D weaving technique, with two types of yarns i.e. polyester/cotton (59tex) and multifilament steel (55.5 tex). The weave design of face and back layer of the three-layered structure was kept 1/1plain (P), while the weave design of middle layer was changed to plain (P), matt (M), twill (T) or satin (S), resulting instructures PPP, PMP, PTP, and PSP respectively. Working of pressure sensor was evaluated in terms of resistance offered bystructure, both under static and dynamic loading. The dynamic load was applied by the compression and subsequentrelaxation, i.e. under incremental loading followed by decremental unloading. All the structures showed variation inresistance in response to applied load showing potential being used as a pressure sensor. The structures PPP, PMP, and PSPbehaved as a pressure sensor up to 500 grams while the efficient sensor was PTP (plain/twill/plain) with activity up to a loadof 5500 grams. A statistical model was developed for the structure PTP, correlating the resistance with the applied load. Thedeveloped sensors can also be produced inside the fabrics or can be embedded inside garments.

Experimental analysis of ILSS of glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic and thermoset textile composites enhanced with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Saamia Zahid,Muhammad Ali Nasir,Saad Nauman,Mehmet Karahan,Yasir Nawab,H. M. Ali,Yasir Khalid,Muhammad Nabeel,Mudaser Ullah 대한기계학회 2019 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.33 No.1

In this study experimental investigation of interlaminar shear strength of glass fibre reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and epoxy based thermosets composites enhanced with multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is presented, and comparison is made between thermoplastic and thermosets composites. Suspension of MWCNTs in TPU and epoxy matrix was prepared using magnetic stirring and sonication technique. Both thermoplastic reinforced glass fibre and thermosets reinforced glass fibre composites were manufactured using hand layup technique. Carbon nanotubes were added in the concentrations of 0.1 %weight, 0.3 %weight and 0.5 %weight in both types of composites. Results showed that as the concentration of CNTs increases, the ILSS of the nanocomposites was also improved. With an addition of 0.5 % weight CNTs, there was improvement of 24.37 % in ILSS in epoxy based composites and 10.05 % enhancement in thermoplastic polyurethane reinforced glass fibre composites. The average ILSS obtained for thermoplastic polyurethane composites was less than that of epoxy composites. The TPU based composites also demonstrated inelastic deformations without any trace of brittle fracture. The pristine epoxy based composites on the other hand did show inelastic deformations followed by brittle fracture. Higher concentrations of MWCNTs led to an absence of brittle fracture during the tests, owing to the crack bridging effect of the CNTs.

Development and Mechanical Characterization of Weave Design Based 2D Woven Auxetic Fabrics for Protective Textiles

Mumtaz Ali,Muhammad Zeeshan,Muhammad Bilal Qadir,Rabia Riaz,Sheraz Ahmad,Yasir Nawab,Aima Sameen Anjum 한국섬유공학회 2018 Fibers and polymers Vol.19 No.11

Auxetic materials expand in at least one dimension, when stretched longitudinally i.e. they have negative Poisson’s ratio. Development of 2D woven auxetic fabrics (AF) is a new approach to develop mechanically stable auxetic textile structures. However, the mechanical response of such emerging structure is still not studied in detail yet, therefore different mechanical properties of 2D woven AF are compared with conventional non-auxetic fabric (NAF). AF was developed by orienting yarns in auxetic honey-comb (AHC) geometry and auxeticity is induced due to such orientation of yarns. AF was developed using conventional (non-auxetic) materials; cotton yarn and elastane cotton yarn in warp and weft dimension respectively, using air jet loom. Structure and auxeticity of AF were analyzed using a digital microscope and its different mechanical properties (tensile strength, tear strength, bursting strength, cut resistance, and puncture resistance) were studied. AF showed superior mechanical properties with a lower initial modulus, which is beneficial for different protective textiles applications like cut resistance gloves, blast resistant curtains, and puncture tolerant elastomeric composites.