The boundary integral equation (BIE) method is applied for the thermal analysis of fiber-reinforced composites, particularly the carbon-nanotube (CNT) composites, based on a rigid-line inclusion model. The steady state heat conduction equation is solved using the BIE in a two-dimensional infinite domain containing line inclusions which are assumed to have a much higher thermal conductivity (lik...

Biofibers. natural lignocellulosics, have an outstanding potential a s a reinforcement in thermoplastics. This study deals with the preparation of lignocellulosic composites by reactive extrusion processing in which good interfacial adhesion is generated by a combination of fiber modification and matrix modification methods. PP matrix was modified by reacting with maleic anhydride and subsequen...

Conventional fiber reinforced plastics (FRP’s) have long been important if not indispensable in many crucial applications such as transportation, renewable energy, defense applications, as well as many others. Composite materials are of interest to these industries due to their attractive properties including high strength to weight ratio and high modulus to weight ratio. Comprehensive research...

The effect of reinforcement in the cross-linked poly(propylene fumarate-co-caprolactone diol) thermoset composites based on Kevlar fibres and hydroxyapatite was studied. Cross-linked poly(propylene fumarate-co-caprolactone diol) was also studied without any reinforcement for comparison. The reinforcing fibre acts as a barrier for the curing reaction leading to longer setting time and lesser cro...

BACKGROUND Polylactic acid (PLA) is considered to be a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based polymers for many applications. Using cellulose fiber to reinforce PLA is of great interest recently due to its complete biodegradability and potential improvement of the mechanical performance. However, the dispersion of hydrophilic cellulose fibers in the hydrophobic polymer matrix is usually poo...

Hydroxyapatite (HA) whisker reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) composites have been investigated as bioactive materials for load-bearing orthopedic implants with tailored mechanical properties governed by the volume fraction, morphology, and preferred orientation of the HA whisker reinforcements. Therefore, the objective of this study was to establish key structure-property relationships an...

In this paper, an advanced boundary element method (BEM) with thin-body capabilities is applied to model multiple cells of ®ber-reinforced composites with the consideration of the interphases. E€ects of the multiple-cell models, as compared to the unit-cell model, in determining the e€ective material constants in the transverse plane, are studied. In this BEM approach, the interphases are model...

A new boundary element method (BEM) is developed for three-dimensional analysis of fiber-reinforced composites based on a rigid-inclusion model. Elasticity equations are solved in an elastic domain containing inclusions which can be assumed much stiffer than the host elastic medium. Therefore the inclusions can be treated as rigid ones with only six rigid-body displacements. It is shown that th...

Glass fiber reinforced resol/vac-eha composites have been fabricated in laboratory to determine the dynamic behavior of glass fiber reinforced composites. Resol solution was blended with vinyl acetate-2-ethylhexyl acrylate (vac-eha) resin in an aqueous medium with varying volume fraction of glass fibers. The role of fiber/matrix interactions in glass fibers reinforced composites were investigat...

Metal matrix composite (MMC) is engineered combination of the metal (matrix) and hard particle (reinforcement) to get tailored properties. MMCs are either in use or prototyping for the space shuttle, commercial airliners, electronic substrates, automobiles, golf clubs, and a variety of other applications.In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced aluminum MMCs were synthesized by DPDS fo...