Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

First Advisor

Kelkar, Ajit Dr.

Abstract

In the present study, sintered electrospun TEOS nanofibers were interleaved in S2 fiberglass woven fabric layers, and composite panels were fabricated using the heated vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (H-VARTM) process. Cured panels were water jet cut to obtain the flexural test coupons. Flexural coupons were then tested using ASTM D7264 standard. The mechanical properties such as flexural strength, ultimate flexural failure strains, flexural modulus, and fiber volume fraction were measured. The S-2 fiberglass composite with the sintered TEOS electrospun nanofibers displayed lower flexural stiffness and strength as compared to the composites that were fabricated using S-2 fiberglass composite without the TEOS electrospun nanofibers. The present study also indicated that the composites fabricated with sintered TEOS electrospun nanofibers have larger failure strains as compared to the ones that were fabricated without the presence of electrospun nanofibers. The study indicates that the nanoengineered composites have better energy absorbing mechanism under flexural loading as compared to conventional fiberglass composites without presence of nanofibers.

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