Design and Manufacture of Woven Reinforced Glass/Polypropylene Composites for Mass Transit Floor Structure

Abstract

Recent developments in hot-melt impregnation, extrusion, and thermoforming offer multiple avenues for the design and manufacture of low-cost thermoplastic composites for mass transit and automotive applications. Fiber reinforced thermoplastics such as glass/polypropylene (glass/PP) have found their applications in front-end bumper beams, under body shields, and other automotive applications. These materials also have potential usage in mass transit vehicles, such as buses. The present study focuses on the design and manufacture of a segment of the floor of a mass transit bus using glass/PP woven tape forms developed through a hot-melt impregnation process. An initial study on the existing mass transit buses found that a metal skeletal frame and plywood panels are used in the construction of the floor structure. The representative thermoplastic composite floor segment featured a glass/PP woven tape material, belt-pressed to form a flat laminate, and adhesively bonded to a vacuum thermoformed ribbed laminate. A combination of analysis software including Pro/Engineer, Hyper Mesh, and ANSYS 7.0 were used for the design and analysis. Weight savings up to 40% were realized using glass/PP woven tape thermoplastic composites as compared to the conventional metal/ plywood design

Mechanical interfacial adhesion of carbon fibers-reinforced polarized-polypropylene matrix composites: effects of silane coupling agents

“…Mechanical interfacial adhesion of carbon fibers-reinforced polarized-polypropylene matrix composites: effects of silane coupling agents http://carbonlett.org Thermoplastic composites are used in a variety of applications such as mass transit, automotive parts, and military structures [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Their appeal compared to conventional materials such as aluminum, steel, and thermoset composites for these applications lies in their high specific strength, corrosion resistance, superior impact resistance, high toughness, and ease of recycling [1][2][3][4][5][6][7].…”

“…Their appeal compared to conventional materials such as aluminum, steel, and thermoset composites for these applications lies in their high specific strength, corrosion resistance, superior impact resistance, high toughness, and ease of recycling [1][2][3][4][5][6][7].…”

Mechanical properties of plastic matrix composite materials used in tractor bonnets

“…8 Since E-glass fibers are strong, and are the most commonly used reinforcement materials in composites. Vaidya et al 9 used a polypropylene and E-glass composite for the floor of a bus, resulting in a 40% reduction in weight. Yuanjian et al 10 conducted a series of tests to determine the tensile and fatigue properties of unwoven hemp fiber-reinforced polyester.…”

Experimental and numerical investigation of Long Glass Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene composite and application in automobile components

“…As one class of typical composites, GFRP has been widely adopted in automobile industry for lightweight design. A composite bus was developed using woven glass/polypropylene composites by Tillotson (Vaidya et al 2004), which led to over 30% weight reduction compared with conventional metallic bus. Glass fibers/polypropylene is one kind of GFRP, which offers the potential for rapid manufacturing with low cycle times that allows for medium to high volume production.…”