Hybrid Composites in Sport Goods

Research Objective

In the past decades, composites materials have been utilized to solve technological
problems for a long time but only in the 1960s did these materials starts capturing the
attention of industries with the introduction of polymeric-based composites. Since then,
composites materials have become common engineering materials and are designed
and manufactured for various application including automotive components, sporting
goods, aerospace parts, consumer goods, and in the marine and oil industries. The
growth in composite usage also came about because of increased awareness regarding
product performance and increased competition in the global market for lightweight of
components. Among all materials, composites materials have the potential to replace
widely used steel and aluminum, and many times with better performance.

However, the major concern of composites is the ability to recycle at the end of their
usable lifetime, mainly because of the compounding of miscellaneous and usually very
stable fibers and matrices. Disposal by landfill become increasingly impossible due to
the concern of environmental issue. Consequently, recyclability of composite has been
given attention. Environmental compatibility is being investigated and biodegradation
under certain condition has been examined. An alternative option to the problem is the
development of composite made from renewable natural fibers with recyclable resin.
These types of composites are still under development and holds very promising future.

 Identifying suitable stacking sequence of carbon fiber and natural fiber for sport
application
 Effect of thermoset resin on the processing of hybrid carbon fiber and natural fiber.
 Identifying suitable method to apply coupling agent

1. Research Background

Composites materials are attractive because they combine material properties in

ways not found in nature. Such materials often result in lightweight structures having
high stiffness and tailored properties for specific applications, thereby saving weight
 and reducing energy needs. Fiber-reinforced plastic composites began with cellulose
fiber in 1908, later extending to urea and melamine, and research commodity status
in 1940s with glass fiber in unsaturated polyesters. From guitars, tennis racquets,
and cars to micro light aircrafts, electronic components, and artificial joints,
composites are finding use in diverse fields. The fiber-reinforced composites market
is a multibillion-dollar business. Glass fiber is the dominant fiber and is used in 95%
of cases to reinforced thermoplastic and thermoset composites. Current research
findings show that in certain composites applications, natural fibers demonstrate
competitive performance to glass fibers. Broadly defined, biocomposites are
composite materials made from natural fiber and petroleum-derived non-
biodegradable polymers like PP, PE, and epoxies or biopolymers like PLA and
PHAs. Composite materials derived from biopolymer and synthetic fibers such as
glass and carbon also come under biocompoites. Biocomposites derived from plant-
derived fiber (natural/biofiber) and crop/bioderived plastics (biopolymer/bioplastic)
are likely more ecofriendly, and such biocomposites are sometimes termed “green
composites”.

Fiber-reinforced platic composites used in

2002
Aerospace Miscellaneous
1% 4%
Appliances Automotives
8% 31%
Consumer Products
8%
Electronic Components
10%

Marines
12% Construction
26%

Figure 1.1 Fiber-reinforced plastic composites (Adapted from Plast.News.August 26,

2002.)
 Natural/biofiber composites

Partly ecofriendly Ecofriendly/green

Biofiber-petroleum- Biofiber-renewable
based plastic resource-based
(polypropylene/ bioplastic (soy plastic/
polyester, etc.) cellulosic plastic/PLA,
etc.)

Hybrid biocomposites
(Fiber blending/ matrix
blending)

Figure 1.2 Classification of biobased composites

Composites materials have been consider the material of choice in some

applications of the automotive industry by delivering high-quality surface finish,
styling details, and processing options. Manufacturers are able to meet
automotives requirements of cost, appearance, and performance utilizing
composites. Today, composites body panels have a successful track record in all
categories- from exotic sports cars to passenger cars to small, medium, and
heavy truck applications. In 2002, the automotives industry used 706.8 million
pounds of composite. Because the automotive market is very cost-sensitive,
carbon fiber compositions are not yet accepted due to their higher material costs.
Automotives composites utilize glass fibers as main reinforcements.

The growth of composite materials in the aerospace industry is generally

due to their outstanding strength and resistance to weathering and friction, and
their light weight allowing fuel reduction. Its growth in commercial aircraft is seen
in the increased use of fiberglass composite material in succeeding families of
Boeing aircraft from about 20 square yards for the 707, 200 for the 727, 300 for
the 737, and over 1000 for the 747. This amount is increased in the Boeing 767
and includes structural applications of other space-age composites. Thus, the
 Boeing 767 uses carbon/aromatic nylon/epoxy landing gear, doors and wing-to-
body fairings. Composites have displaced more conventional materials because
they are lighter with greater strength and stiffness allowing them to carry a
greater payload further. Composites are also relatively insensitive to flaws.
Fatigue testing of composites shows that they have high resistance to crack and
fracture propagation in comparison to metals. They are stable and not subject to
corrosion.

Sports and recreation equipment suppliers are also becoming major users
of composite materials. The growth in structural composite usage has been
greatest in high-performance sporting goods and racing boats. Products such as
golf shafts, tennis rackets, snow skis, fishing rods, etc. are made of composites
materials. These products are light in weight and provide higher performance,
which helps the user in easy handling and increased comfort.

2. Problem Statement

Persistence of plastics in the environment, the shortage of landfill space,

the depletion of petroleum resources, concerns over emissions during
incineration, and entrapment by and ingestion of packaging plastics by fish, fowl
and animals have spurred efforts to develop biodegradable/biobased plastics.
This new generation of biobased polymeric products is based on renewable
biobased plant and agricultural stock and form the basis for a portfolio of
sustainable, eco-efficient products that can compete in markets currently
dominated by products based on petroleum feedstock in applications such as
packaging, automotives, building products, furniture and consumer goods. It is
not necessary to produce 100% biobased materials as substitutes for petroleum-
based materials immediately. Available solution is to combine petroleum and
bioresources to produce a useful product having the requisite cost-performance
properties for real world applications. Biopolymers or synthetic polymers
reinforced with natural/ biofiber frequently termed 'biocomposites' can be viable
alternatives to glass fiber reinforced composites. The combination of biofibers
like kenaf, industrial hemp, flax, jute, henequen, pineapple leaf fiber, sisal, wood
and various grasses with polymer matrices from both non-renewable (petroleum
based) and renewable resources to produce composite materials that are
competitive with synthetic composites such as glass-polypropylene,
glassepoxies, etc., is gaining attention over the last decade.

The world’s supply of natural resources is decreasing and the demand for
sustainable and renewable raw materials continues to rise. In 1997,
approximately 25 million metric tons of man-made fibers and about 20 million
metric tons of natural fibers were produced worldwide. Biofiber-reinforced
composites represent a potential nontraditional, value-added source of income to
the agricultural community. Jute is from India and Bangladesh; coir is produced
in the tropical countries of the world, with India accounting for 20% of the total
world production; sisal is also widely grown in tropical countries of Africa, the
West Indies, and the Far East, with Tanzania and Brazil being the two main
producing countries; kenaf is grown commercially in the United States; flax is a
commodity crop grown in the European Union as well as in many diverse
agricultural systems and environments throughout the world, including Canada,
Argentina, India, and Russia. Flax fiber accounts for less than 2% of world
consumption of apparel and industrial textiles, despite the fact that it has a
number of unique and beneficial properties. Hemp originated in Central Asia,
from which it spread to China, and is now cultivated in many countries in the
temperate zone. Ramie fibers are the longest and one of the strongest fine textile
fibers and mostly available and used in China, Japan, and Malaysia. The price
for natural fiber varies depending on the economy of the countries where such
fibers are produced.
Most plastics by themselves are not suitable for load-bearing applications
due to their lack of sufficient strength, stiffness, and dimensional stability.
However, fibers possess high strength and stiffness but are difficult to use in
load-bearing applications by themselves because of their fibrous structure. In
fiber-reinforced composites, the fibers serve as reinforcement by giving strength
and stiffness to the structure while the plastic matrix serves as the adhesive to
hold the fibers in place so that suitable structural components can be made. A
broad classification (nonwood and wood fibers) of natural fibers is represented
schematically in Figure 1.3, whereas Figure 1.4 displays images of several
natural fibers with reinforcement potential.

Figure 1.3 Schematic representation of reinforcing natural/biofibers

classification.

Figure1.4 Photographs of some natural fibers and sources of natural fibers.

 The tensile strengths as well as Elastic modulus of natural fibers like
kenaf, hemp, flax, jute, and sisal are lower than that of manmade fibers such as
carbon fiber and E-glass. Table 1.1 shows the tensile strength and Elastic modulus
of selected fibers which can be easily obtained in the market.

Properties of Selected Natural and Manmade Fibers

Table 1.1 Properties of Selected Natural and Manmade Fibers

However, the density of manmade fibers is generally higher, (E-glass, S-glass is

2.5g/cm3) while that of natural fibers is much lower (approx. 1.4g/cm 3). The specific
strength and specific modulus of some of these natural fibers are quite comparable
to glass fiber. This becomes particularly important where the weight of the structure
needs to be reduced. By combining the manmade fiber and natural fiber,
manipulating the stacking sequence and using different types of resin in the
manufacturing of composites, composites with desired properties and weight can be
achieved easily. This will be beneficial in both the cost of production as well as
reducing the carbon footprint in manufacturing the composites.

3. Expected outcome

When relate to sport equipments, the requirement of the materials properties are
much higher than normal application. The focus the composite development will be
based on the performance of the composite subjected to various harsh conditions.
For instance, high shock resistance which is related to the impact strength, high
 flexural strength when subjected to large degree of deformation and the composite
should be as light as possible without sacrificing any other properties.

4. Methodology

Matrix Phase Reinforced Phase

(HIPS, ABS) (Gunny bag treated

with coupling
Dissolve in MEK
agent)

Hand Lay-up followed by vacuum bagging

MEK vaporize

Sample with different

 Types of matrix
 Types of stacking
sequence
 Coupling agent

Impact Visual Flexural

strength inspection strength
testing of testing
morphology