Matrix cracking in polymer matrix composites under bi-axial loading

Bi-continuous metal matrix composites

Bi-continuous alumina/aluminium composites were made by infiltrating an alumina preform which had the structure of a reticulated ceramic foam. The low density preforms were prepared from a polyurethane suspension of alumina powder which was pyrolysed and sintered after foaming. Higher density preforms consisted of ceramic foams with open cells. All these preforms were infiltrated with 6061 alum...

Manufacturing of Polymer-matrix Composites

Surface Degradation of Polymer Matrix Composites Under Different Low Thermal Cycling Conditions

The principal effects of mass degradation on polymer matrix composites (PMCs) are the decay of mechanical properties such as strength, elongation, and resilience. This degradation is a common problem of the PMCs under thermal cycling conditions. In this article, composite degradation was investigated by measurement of total mass loss (TML) using the Taguchi approach. Thermal cycling tests were ...

Matrix cracking of fiber-reinforced ceramic composites in shear

The mechanics of cracking in fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) under general loadings remains incomplete. The present paper addresses one outstanding aspect of this problem: the development of matrix cracks in unidirectional plies under shear loading. To this end, we develop a model based on potential energy differences upstream and downstream of a fully bridged steady-state mat...

Upregulation of matrix synthesis in chondrocyte-seeded agarose following sustained bi-axial cyclic loading

OBJECTIVES The promotion of extracellular matrix synthesis by chondrocytes is a requisite part of an effective cartilage tissue engineering strategy. The aim of this in vitro study was to determine the effect of bi-axial cyclic mechanical loading on cell proliferation and the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans by chondrocytes in three-dimensional cultures. METHOD A strain comprising 10% direct c...