OPTIMAL SELECTION OF FRP CONSTITUENTS FOR STRUCTURAL APPLICATION

Abstract

Composite materials are being widely used in many engineering applications. They usually possess high specific strength and stiffness. Even the cost of these materials have come down. Presently there is severe pressure on our resources due to all round developmental activities. Thus there is a need to use our natural resources in a more effective manner. It is in this context that optimal use of material in engineering appications is drawing the attention of designers. While working with conventional material the designer has a limited choice of selecting the best material for a particular application. However, composite materials can be tailor-made (or designed) for a particular application. Choosing a right composite material involves choosing of fibres, the matrix, fibre volume fraction, orientation of fibres in a particular lamina and the stacking sequence of laminae in a laminate. The designer has a vide flexibility in choice and consequently he has additional responsibility to make a right choice of the composite. In the present work, selection of the best fibre/resin combination has been addressed keeping in view that composites are likely to find extensive use in structural and industrial application. A simultaneous selection of optimal fibre/resin combination has been attempted. The problem is formulated as a Decision Support Problem (DSP) and different competing goals have been incorporated. An algorithm based on the simple modification of the linear simplex model has been developed to solve the DSP. A computer programme has been developed in `C' under unix environment to implement the algorithm. The software has been tested and validated. Finally it is concluded that the software developed may prove to be a powerful tool in simultaneous selection of fibre and resin for a particular application. The approach used in this work can be extended for synthesizing hybrid laminates i.e. with more than one fibre in a single matrix. This same approach can