FABRICATION AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF LOW COST HIGH IMPACT RESISTANT COMPOSITE

Abstract

In this thesis low cost composite laminates were fabricated and their effectiveness against high impact was assessed. Glass fiber was used as the fiber and epoxy resin as the binder to create composite laminates. For enhanced binding properties, hardener and 6% cobalt were additionally included with the binder. The laminates vary in terms of layer count, glass fiber type (woven or matt), and curing time. For better comparison between same type of laminates, a few more variables, including the percentage of hardener, the quantity of matrix, and the curing time, were held constant. The mechanical properties were measured giving the Impact test more importance. The mechanical property tests such as the tensile test, compression test, bending test, Charpy impact test, Izod test, and free fall impact tests were done according to the different standardized test method. A laminate with greater performance was found after comparing all the attributes. The production costs were successfully reduced by the thesis because all the materials were readily available and locally manufactured with simple setups. The thesis successfully suggested a possible low-cost production setup for high impact resistant materials.