CREEP CHARACTERIZATION OF SEVEN AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITE MATERIALS

摘要

The results of creep testing of seven fiber-reinforced automotive composite materials are presented. Three of the materials tested were thermoset matrix: a carbon-fiber reinforced vinyl ester, a glass-fiber reinforced unsaturated polyester, and a random glass-fiber P4 polyurethane. Two were soy resin matrix: one reinforced with glass and one reinforced with carbon fiber. The other two materials were glass-fiber reinforced thermoplastic polypropylene material systems: GMT~(TM) and GMTex~(TM). Data on multiple specimens of each material were collected and analyzed, and best-fit creep strain models were produced for each material. As is often the case with automotive composites, there was significant scatter in the creep data likely due at least in part to the non-homogeneity of the materials. The creep compliance graphs for Carbon Fiber Soy, Carbon Fiber Vinyl Ester, Glass Fiber Soy and Glass Fiber UPE suggest that those materials exhibit non-linear creep. In general, and as expected, the weaker and more compliant the composite the less resistant it was to creep.