Mohd shahrizan bin mohmad sha (4171002661)

Question 1

i. Composites have been of core interest for engineers in the strengthening of existing
structure also other applications of such composites are to construct new structural
elements, including the utilization of reinforcements as alternatives to conventional
steel reinforcements, the development of hybrid structural systems.

ii. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is the suitable composites that can be used in civil
engineering application considerable practice owing to their superior durability-related
properties and lower weight to strength/stiffness ratios compared to conventional
construction and building materials.

a. Production and Installation Time

When developing the design for overall infrastructure plan, it’s important to factor
in the amount of time that will be needed not only for the whole project, but also
for each step within the process. Obviously, saved time translates to saved costs, but
certainly don’t want to sacrifice quality for efficiency. FRP can provide an ideal
balance, helping to save valuable production time while still providing the necessary
quality, strength, and durability.

b.  Weight
FRP is known for being lightweight. In fact, it’s about eight times lighter than
reinforced concrete — meaning FRP is also less labour intensive to use and install,
and requires less equipment. This material also requires less labour during removal
processes.

c. Corrosion and Maintenance

Offering high durability and strength, as well as reliable resistance to corrosion, FRP
is long-lasting and mitigates the need for ongoing maintenance. The lack of required
maintenance and repairs helps to save on expensive labor and material costs and
also prevents inconvenience to end users, since repair downtime is eliminated.
And, since FRP is long-lasting and resistant to corrosion, the long-term costs end up
being less as well.
iii.

- Automated tape layup (ATL) and automated fiber placement (AFP) techniques are
efficient for large, flat, or single curvature composite structures as it uses the
assistance of a multi axis articulating robot, where the material is deposited in
accordance with a defined computer numerical control (CNC) path. The AFP process
involves the individual prepreg lay-up of laminates onto a mandrel using a
numerically controlled fiber placement machine, which are then further pulled off by
holding spools composite structures are fabricated quickly and accurately, but the
expenses in employing required specialized equipment keep these technologies out
of reach for small to medium scale manufacturers.

- Hand lay-up process, which is the most common and widely used open mold
composite manufacturing processing. Initially, fiber preforms are placed in a mold
where a thin layer antiadhesive coat is applied for easy extraction. The resin material
is poured or applied using a brush on a reinforcement material. The roller is used to
force the resin into the fabrics to ensure an enhanced interaction between the
successive layers of the reinforcement and the matrix materials.
iv.
- Tensile Testing
In-plane tensile testing of plain composite laminates is the most common test.
Tensile tests are also performed on resin impregnated bundles of fibers, through
thickness specimens (cut from thick sections of laminates), and sections of sandwich
core materials.

- Compression Testing
Composite compression test methods need to provide a means of introducing a
compressive load into the material while preventing it from buckling. Most
composite materials are produced in the form of laminate panels, and hence, the
material being tested will be in the form of a relatively thin and flat rectangular test
specimen.

- Fatigue Testing
Compared to the large number of well-defined “static” tests on composite materials,
fatigue testing of laminates is much more open. It’s important to have accurate
alignment and correct gripping to avoid failures near the grip jaws. Also, high lateral
stiffness is paramount to prevent buckling in tests that include compressive loading.
It should be noted that some of the anti-buckling guides used in “static” testing are
problematic if used in cyclic testing due to friction effects. When conducting fatigue
tests on polymer composites the maximum test frequency is limited by need to limit
the temperature rise in the test piece e.g. the maximum temperature rise
recommended by the ISO 13003 fatigue standard is 10 C