Effects of temperature on interlaminar fracture toughness of fibre reinforced plastic composites made by newly proposed rubber pressure moulding technique

Abstract

The present paper has investigated the effect of temperatures (i.e.−70–100°C) on the interlaminar fracture toughness (ILFT) of fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) composite panels made by a recently developed process known as the rubber pressure moulding (RPM) technique. The RPM technique is based on the matching die set, where the die is made of hard metal like steel and the punch from flexible rubber like materials. The use of flexible rubber punch helps to intensify and uniformly redistribute pressure (both operating pressure and developed hydrostatic pressure due to the flexible rubber punch) on the surface of the product. Natural rubber was used to prepare rubber punch in this investigation. For performance evaluation of FRP composites made by the RPM technique, FRP composites were also made by conventional method and tested at the same temperatures. It is observed that Mode I ILFT of FRP composites decreases towards higher and lower extremes of the temperature range selected. FRP composites made by the RPM technique show a higher Mode I ILFT over the 25–100°C temperature range than those made by the conventional process.