The microstructure (i.e., fibre volume fraction, void content, and fibre misalignment) of
unidirectional carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites was optimised by controlling
several parameters during manufacture, namely: (i) compressive pressure (0.25~1.25 MPa, in steps
of 0.25 MPa), (ii) vacuum pressure (−0.15, −0.20, −0.30, −0.45, and −0.65 MPa), and (iii) holding
temperature (100~140 oC, in steps of 10 oC), applied during autoclave curing with the holding time
being 30 minutes for all specimens. Optical micrographs captured from cross-sectional, through-the
thickness areas, and in-plane areas of the resulting composites were evaluated and analysed in order
to describe their microstructural characteristics.
The flexural behaviour of 6-ply unidirectional hybrid fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP)
matrix composites containing a mixture of E-glass and S2-glass fibres was investigated. A high
performance epoxy system comprising of Kinetix® R240 epoxy resin (combined with Kinetix®
H160 epoxy hardener) was utilised for the composite matrix. Flexural testing was conducted in
accordance with Procedure A of the ASTM D790-03 test standard on a universal testing machine
equipped with a three-point bend test rig. In addition to varying the stacking configurations of the
composite prepregs, the influence of span-to-depth ratio on the flexural properties and failure
mechanisms was also studied. The failure mechanisms of the resulting fractured specimens were
characterised using optical microscopy and compared with those noted by the authors in previous
work.
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