Question

Why is fiberglass mesh needed?

Composite sheets of fiberglass mesh for marble reinforced polycarbonate were prepared by hot compress molding. The effects of lay-up structure, lay-up angle, area density of fiberglass mesh and the thickness of PC film on tensile property were studied. The results reveal that the alternative lay-up structure of reinforcement mesh and matrix film is optimal and tensile property declines as lay-up angle increases. Fiberglass mesh with lower area density is appropriate for thinner composites. Composite sheets fabricated with thinner PC film show better tensile property. SEM analysis shows that alternative lay-up structure is favorable to the immersion of the fiber bundle of marble mesh cloth with low area density in the melting matrix, and thus the improvement of tensile property.

This paper investigates the effect of surface treatment for glass fiber, stainless steel wire mesh on tensile, flexural, inter-laminar shear and impact properties of glass fiber/stainless steel wire mesh reinforced epoxy hybrid composites. The glass fiber fabric is surface treated either by 1 N solution of sulfuric acid or 1 N solution of sodium hydroxide. The stainless steel wire mesh is also surface treated by either electro dissolution or sand blasting. The hybrid composites are fabricated using epoxy resin reinforced with glass fiber and fine stainless steel wire mesh by hand lay-up technique at room temperature. The hybrid composite consisting of acid treated glass fiber and sand blasted stainless steel wire mesh exhibits a good combination of tensile, flexural, inter-laminar shear and impact behavior in comparison with the composites made without any surface treatment. The fine morphological modifications made on the surface of the glass fiber and stainless steel wire mesh enhances the bonding between the resin and reinforcement which inturn improved the tensile, flexural, inter- laminar shear and impact properties.