See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/328802058

Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Glass Fibre and Carbon Fibre

Reinforced Polymer Composite

Article · November 2018

CITATIONS READS

6 2,301

1 author:

Ramesh Kumar Nayak

Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal
69 PUBLICATIONS   310 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Optimization of process parameters in milling of TiO 2 filled GFRP composite View project

I am working on development and mechanical properties evaluation of FRP composites View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ramesh Kumar Nayak on 08 November 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Journal of Communication Engineering & Systems
ISSN: 2249-8613 (Online), ISSN: 2321-5151 (Print)
Volume 8, Issue 2
www.stmjournals.com

Evaluation of Mechanical Properties of Glass Fibre and

Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composite
Arunabha Batabyal, Ramesh Kumar Nayak, Sushanta Tripathy*
School of Mechanical Engineering, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Bhubaneswar,
Odisha, India

Abstract
Fiber reinforced polymer composite materials are gradually substituting traditional metallic
materials because of their high specific strength and better corrosion resistance. However, the
cost of the composites is still higher than the traditional materials. Different fibres are used in
polymer matrix composites. Glass and carbon fiber are one of the promising reinforcements in
polymer matrix composites. In this project, a comparison of mechanical properties and
erosion resistance has been investigated for glass and carbon fiber composites. The
composites were fabricated by hand lay-up technique. Different molding loads were applied
during the curing process of composites. The effects of molding loads on tensile strength,
modulus and wear resistance of the composites were evaluated. It is observed that with
increase in molding load, the tensile strength, modulus and wear resistance decreases. In this
work, it is observed that the optimum molding load to achieve better mechanical properties is
10 kg.

Keywords: Carbon fibre, glass fibre, composite materials, mechanical properties, tensile test,
air erosion test

*Author for Correspondence E-mail: sushant.tripathy@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION weight. One such material is Glass reinforced

Nowadays, the two most desired properties in
any manufactured product are lightweight and
better corrosion resistance. Hence these
properties are also expected to be present in
the materials that are used to manufacture
them. Demand of these types of materials is
continuously increasing at a high rate every
year, specifically in aerospace and aircraft,
automobiles, medical devices as well as many
civil engineering applications. Among
different types of composites, polymer matrix
composites are more popular because of their
high specific strength and better corrosion
resistance. Glass and carbon fibres are one of
the promising materials used as reinforcement
in polymer matrix composites.
Glass fibre consists of very fine fibres of glass.
It is formed through extrusion of very thin
strands of silica based or other formulation
glass. Glass fibre is much cheaper and less
brittle compared to fibres such as carbon fibre
or other plastic fibres. It can be used as a
reinforcing agent for making many polymer
composites to increase strength and reduce
plastic (GRP), also known as ‘fibreglass’. The
most common glass fibre used is E-glass
which is alumina-borosilicate glass mainly
used for glass reinforced plastics. Other types
of glass used are: A-glass, E-CR-glass, C-
glass, D-glass, R-glass and S-glass. Fibreglass
resists both tensile and compressive forces
very well. Glass fibres are used for thermal
insulation, electrical insulation, sound
insulation, corrosion-resistant fabrics, high
strength fabrics etc. They are widely used in
making FRP tanks and vessels [1].
Carbon fibre is composed mostly of carbon
atoms. The atomic structure of carbon fibre is
similar to that of graphite consisting of sheets
of carbon atoms arranged in a regular
hexagonal pattern, the difference is in the way
of interlocking of the sheets [2]. Carbon fibres
have favourable properties like high tensile
strength, high stiffness, low weight, high
temperature tolerance, and low thermal
expansion. But they are highly expensive
when compared to other fibres such as glass
fibre, aramid fibre, or other plastic fibres.

JoCES (2018) 66-74 © STM Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Page 66
Mechanical Properties of Glass and Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composite Tripathy et al.

Carbon fibre can be reinforced with polymers
such as plastic resin to form carbon fibre
reinforced polymer which will have the
combined properties of carbon fibre as well as
the polymer. This has a very high strength-to-
weight ratio and makes it extremely rigid [3].
Non-polymer materials can be used as matrix
for carbon fibres. But due to formation of
carbides and also observed corrosion, carbon
fibre finds very little application in metal
matrix composites.
The objective of this project has been to
fabricate glass fibre reinforced epoxy
composite as well as carbon fibre reinforced
epoxy composite separately. The composites
were made through hand lay-up technique.
The properties of these two types of
composites were evaluated and then compared
analytically. Table 1 presents the comparison
of properties of the materials.
Three different amounts of load were applied
on the glass fibre reinforced epoxy composites
and their mechanical properties like ultimate
tensile strength, Young’s modulus and wear
resistance were studied. The optimum loading
condition was determined and then compared
with carbon fibre reinforced epoxy composite.
Example shown in Fig 1 and Fig 2.

Fig. 1: Composites used in Various Sectors and Industries [4].

Fig. 2: Materials used in Boeing 787 [5].

JoCES (2018) 66-74 © STM Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Page 67
Journal of Communication Engineering & Systems
Volume 8, Issue 2
ISSN: 2249-8613 (Online), ISSN: 2321-5151 (Print)

Table 1: Comparison of Properties of the Materials.

Properties Epoxy Glass Fibre Carbon Fibre
Thermal Good thermal properties when Useful thermal insulators because of high Tolerates high heat and low
reacted with suitable curatives; ratio of surface area to weight; thermal thermal expansion at
thermal expansion at 4.5 µm/m/°C expansion at 5.4 µm/m/°C 1.10 µm/m/°C
Tensile Tensile strength of 85 N/mm2; Can elongate more before breaking as High tensile strength of
Compressive strength of compared to carbon fibre; easily absorbs 4000–6000 MPa; high
190 N/mm2 moisture; tensile strength of 3445 to strength to weight ratio
4890 MPa
Density 1.25 gm/cc 2.5 gm/cc Carbon fibre/ epoxy
composite has a density of
1.55 gm/cc
Tensile 3.6 GPa 78 GPa 85 GPa
Modulus

Step-5 Put the cut fibers and roll it with the

roller for uniform distribution of the mixture.
Step-6 Repeat the step 4 till finishing 10 nos.
of glass/carbon fibers.
Step-7 Cover the laminates through teflon
sheet.
Step-8 Apply different molding load on it.
Step-9 Cut the laminates through marble
cutter for tensile and air erosion test.

Cutting of the Composites

The prepared glass fibre- epoxy composites
were cut with the help of a marble cutter at a
dimension of (13.2×3.3) mm2. Figure 4 shows
Fig. 3: iPad Made of Carbon Composites [6]. the cut glass fibre laminates.

IMPLEMENTATION
The materials used for the fabrication of
composites were as follows:
• Glass fibre,
• Carbon fibre,
• Epoxy resin,
• Releasing teflon sheet,
• Heavy duty silicon spray,
• Hardener,
• Brushes,
• Roller,
• Mugs and scissors, Fig. 4: The Cut Glass Fibre Laminates.
• Marble Cutter, and
• Weighing Machine. Testing for Tensile Strength and Modulus
The cut glass fibre composites were then taken
Flow Chart for Fabrication of Composites for tensile test in the Universal Testing
Step-1 Cut and measure the weight of fiber, Machine (UTM) (Figures 5 and 6).
weight of epoxy and hardener.
Step-2 Cut the releasing sheet and spray the Air Jet Erosion Test
releasing reagent on it. Samples of the fibre composites were cut at a
Step-3 Mixing of epoxy and hardener gently. dimension of (2.54×2.54) cm2 for the air
Step-4 Put the mixture on releasing/teflon erosion test. The objective was to find out the
sheet through a brush. rate of loss of mass in the samples of the glass

JoCES (2018) 66-74 © STM Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Page 68
Mechanical Properties of Glass and Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composite Tripathy et al.

fibre and carbon fibre epoxy composites and to
determine which loaded specimen had the
maximum erosion resistance.
The initial weights of the samples were
recorded. The parameters such as pressure of
the air jet, erodent discharge rate, duration was
set accordingly. The final weights after the
experiment were recorded. The difference
(loss) in weight was calculated. Erosion per
unit time was determined. Hence erosion
resistance could be analysed (Figure 7).

Fig. 5: INSTRON UTM 3369.

Fig. 7: The Air Jet Erosion Tester.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Ultimate Tensile Strength
It is the maximum stress that a material can
withstand while being stretched or elongated.
Fig. 6: The Glass Fibre Laminate Undergoing
Tensile Test.

Fig. 8: The Stress-Strain Curve.

JoCES (2018) 66-74 © STM Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Page 69
Journal of Communication Engineering & Systems
Volume 8, Issue 2
ISSN: 2249-8613 (Online), ISSN: 2321-5151 (Print)

It is the material’s maximum resistance to

fracture; equivalent to the maximum load that
can be carried by one square inch of cross-
sectional area when the load is applied as
simple tension (shown in Fig 8).

Young’s Modulus
It is the measure of the stiffness of the
material. It provides the relationship between
stress and strain developed within a material
when they are proportional.

Fig. 10: Specimen of the Glass Fibre

Laminate Ruptured from the Middle.

Figure 9 shows that the glass fibre epoxy

Fig. 9: Fracture of the Testing Specimen of the
Glass Fibre Composite.
composite specimen started rupturing from the
sides and ultimately fractured at the maximum
load. Figure 10 shows in another test, the glass
fibre laminate specimen ruptured from the
middle which made the different layers visible
to the naked eye. An analysis was done taking
all the three types of specimens of glass fibre
laminate to find out the optimum load by
relating with properties like UTS and Young’s
modulus separately. Then this optimum load
was used in case of carbon fibre reinforced
epoxy composite to compare erosion
resistance of glass fibre laminate and carbon
fibre laminate.

Fig. 11: Testing of 10 kg Specimen of Glass Fibre Laminate.

JoCES (2018) 66-74 © STM Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Page 70
Mechanical Properties of Glass and Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composite Tripathy et al.

Fig. 12: Testing of 14 kg Specimen of Glass Fibre Laminate.

Fig. 13: Testing of 22 kg Specimen of Glass Fibre Laminate.

Fig. 14: Effect of Molding Loads on Ultimate Fig. 15: Effect of Molding Loads on Young’s
Tensile Strength of Glass Fibre Laminate. Modulus of Glass Fibre Laminate.

JoCES (2018) 66-74 © STM Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Page 71
Journal of Communication Engineering & Systems
Volume 8, Issue 2
ISSN: 2249-8613 (Online), ISSN: 2321-5151 (Print)

Figure 14 shows that the ultimate tensile and 0.0618 gm/min for 10, 14 and 22 kg
strength is maximum at 10 kg load, followed respectively.
by 22 kg and the least at 14 kg i.e., the
specimen loaded at 10 kg could withstand the
maximum load before fracture. Figure 15
shows that Young’s modulus is the highest in
case of the 10 kg load, followed by the 22 kg
load and then 14 kg. This means the specimen
loaded at 10 kg had the highest stress to strain
ratio within the proportionality limit.

Fig. 17: Eroded Samples of Carbon Fibre

Laminate after Air Erosion Test.

Table 2: All Tensile Test Data (Glass Fibre

Laminate).
Load (kg) Ultimate Tensile Young’s Modulus
Fig. 16: Eroded Samples of Glass Fibre Strength (UTS) (MPa) (MPa)
Laminate after Air Erosion Test. 10 344.352 5279.378
14 321.648 5166.208
Erosion Resistance 22 322.658 5247.928
The rates of erosion per unit time for the
different loads were found as 0.0052, 0.0095

Table 3: Experimental Parameters for Erosion of Glass Fibre Laminate at 10 kg Load.

Test Pressure Erodent Discharge Time Initial Final Difference in Rate of Loss in
No. (bar) Rate (mm/min) (min) Weight Weight Weight (gm) Weight (gm/min)
(gm) (gm)
1 1.5 12.5 5 3.3097 3.2680 0.0417 0.00834
2 1.5 12 5 3.5163 3.5059 0.0104 0.0028
Mean rate of loss in weight =0.0052 gm/min.

Table 4: Experimental Parameters for Erosion of Glass Fibre Laminate at 14 kg Load.

Test No. Pressure Erodent Time (min) Initial Weight Final Difference in Rate of Loss
(bar) Discharge (gm) Weight (gm) Weight (gm) in Weight
Rate (gm/min)
(mm/min)
1 1.5 11.5 5 3.28 3.26 0.02 0.004
2 1.5 11 5 3.3675 3.2920 0.0755 0.0151
Mean rate of loss in weight =0.0095 gm/min.

Table 5: Experimental Parameters for Erosion of Glass Fibre Laminate at 22 kg Load.

Test No. Pressure Erodent Discharge Time (min) Initial Final Difference in Rate of Loss in
(bar) Rate (mm/min) Weight (gm) Weight (gm) Weight (gm) Weight (gm/min)
1 1.5 11 3 3.4860 3.1780 0.308 0.1026
2 1.5 11 2 3.4200 3.3780 0.042 0.021
Mean rate of loss in weight =0.0618 gm/min

JoCES (2018) 66-74 © STM Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Page 72
Mechanical Properties of Glass and Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composite Tripathy et al.

Table 6: Experimental Parameters and Results for Air Erosion Test of Carbon Fibre Laminate.
Test Pressure Erodent Discharge Rate Time Initial Final Difference in Rate of Loss in Weight
No. (bar) (mm/min) (min) Weight Weight Weight (gm) (gm/min)
(gm) (gm)
1 1.5 12.5 2 1.3670 1.3596 0.0074 0.0037
2 1.5 12.5 3 1.4797 1.4672 0.0125 0.0041
Mean rate of loss in weight =0.0051 gm/min.

Table 7: Mean Data for Air Erosion Test Figure 19 shows that air erosion rate is greater
(Glass Fibre). in case of glass fibre reinforced epoxy
Load (kg) Air Erosion Rate (gm/min) composite than that of carbon fibre reinforced
10 0.0052 epoxy composite. Hence this indicates that
14 0.0095 carbon fibre-epoxy composite has greater
resistance to erosion than glass fibre-epoxy
22 0.0618
composite.

CONCLUSION
After completion of this project work, it has
been found that with increase in moulding
load, tensile strength and modulus decreases.
Optimum tensile strength is observed at 10 kg
moulding load. Rate of erosion is maximum at
22 kg and minimum at 10 kg. Therefore, it is
recommended that 10 kg moulding load need
to be applied to have better laminates. Also, it
has been proved that carbon fibre reinforced
epoxy composite has greater resistance to
erosion than glass fibre reinforced epoxy
composite.
Fig. 18: Effect of Moulding Loads on Air
Erosion Rate (Glass Fibre Laminates).
Furthermore, effect of glass fiber and carbon
fiber sequence in hybrid laminates need to be
Figure 18 shows that air erosion rate is
investigated to optimise the mechanical and
minimum at 10 kg load and maximum at 22 kg
erosion properties of this new class of
load. This implies that the sample at 10 kg
composites. However, all the composites may
load had the maximum resistance to erosion.
be fabricated with hand lay-up technique with
moulding load of 10 kg.

REFERENCES
1. Wikipedia. Glass Fiber.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Glass_fiber
2. Xiaosong Huang. Fabrication and
Properties of Carbon Fibers. Materials.
2009; 2: 2369–2403p.
3. Innovative Composite Engineering. What
is Carbon Fibre? [Online] available:
http://www.innovativecomposite.com/
what-is-carbon-fiber/
4. Composites Manufacturing. What will
Drive Composites Growth in 2015? 2015.
Fig. 19: Comparison of Air Erosion Rate [Online] Available: http://
between Glass Fibre and Carbon Fibre compositesmanufacturingmagazine.com/2
Laminates.

JoCES (2018) 66-74 © STM Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Page 73
 Journal of Communication Engineering & Systems
Volume 8, Issue 2
ISSN: 2249-8613 (Online), ISSN: 2321-5151 (Print)

015/01/what-will-drive-composites- in 2016. His research interests include FRP

growth-in-2015/ nano-composites, Sand and Investment
5. Modern Airliners. Boeing 787 Dreamliner Castings, Polymer Composites, Material
Materials. http:// Characterization, and Material Microstructure.
www.modernairliners.com/boeing-787- Dr. Sushanta Tripathy is
dreamliner/boeing-787-dreamliner- specs/ currently working as a
6. Pure Metal Cards [Online] Available: Professor at School of
https://www. Mechanical Engineering,
puremetalcards.com/blog/cutting-edge- Kalinga Institute of
designed-carbon-fiber-business-cards/ Industrial Technology
(KIIT), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. He has
AUTHORS’ BIOGRAPHIES completed his PhD from the Department of
Arunabha Batabyal Industrial Engineering and Management,
completed B. Tech in Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He
Mechanical Engineering at is a Fellow of Institution of Engineers, India.
School of Mechanical His major areas of interest include production
Engineering, Kalinga operations management, multivariate analysis,
Institute of Industrial service operations management, supply chain
Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, management and productivity management.
India in the year 2017. Currently, he is
planning to pursue Master of Science in
Mechanical Engineering. His research interest Cite this Article
lies in the areas of Computational Mechanics, Arunabha Batabyal, Ramesh Kumar
Finite Element Analysis, Mechanics of Nayak, Sushanta Tripathy. Evaluation of
Materials, and Composite Materials. Mechanical Properties of Glass Fibre and
Ramesh Kumar Nayak is Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer
currently working as an Composite. Journal of Communication
Associate Professor at Engineering & Systems. 2018; 8(2):
School of Mechanical 66–74p.
Engineering, Kalinga
Institute of Industrial
Technology (KIIT),
Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. After completing
his M. Tech from Indian Institute of
Technology, Kanpur, he had several years of
industrial experience. He completed his PhD

JoCES (2018) 66-74 © STM Journals 2018. All Rights Reserved Page 74

View publication stats