Low Velocity Impact Behavior of Glass Filled Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic Engine Components
This paper concerns automotive parts located underneath the engine and in particular the engine oil pan. Classically made of stamped steel or cast aluminum, new developments have allowed the manufacture oil pans with polyamide 66 reinforced by 35% weight of short glass fiber. However, polyamides have some limitations and the most significant is their response to localized impact loading. The nature of the impact considered here is of a typical stone collected from the road and projected into the oil pan. Low velocity impact investigations were carried out using a gas gun and drop weight tower. The study shows that the design of the oil pan has a significant contribution in the shock absorption. In addition to the material properties, the geometry and the ribbing both cleverly combined, increase the impact resistance of the component significantly. Areas of oil pan design improvement have been identified and conclusions drawn.
Mechanical performance of stretched knitted fabric glass fibre reinforced poly(ethylene terephthalate) composites produced from commingled yarn
Weft knitted glass fibre (GF) fabric reinforced poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) composite sheets were manufactured by hot pressing of stacked plain knitted fabric layers. The knits were produced from a commingled yarn containing 70 wt-% (#50 vol.-%) GF. The reinforcing knits were stretched in the wale direction at various ratios prior to consolidation. The PET matrix of the composite was either amorphous or semicrystalline. The static mechanical performance of the knitted GF‐PET composite sheets was studied in tension, compression, and flexure. Measurements were carried out on specimens in both wale and course directions of the reinforcing knit in order to assess the structural anisotropy. The inherent anisotropy of the unstretched knit was well reflected in the strength data: the response in the wale direction was superior to that measured in the course direction. The mechanical anisotropy increased with increasing stretching of the knit. The dynamic perforation impact behaviour of the composites was determined by instrumented falling weight impact tests. The static and particularly the dynamic performance of the composites with amorphous PET was superior to that of the semicrystalline version.
The genus Pseudolithophyllum (Corallinaceae) in the Gulf of Maine
SummaryThis is the third of a series of papers covering the anatomy, morphology, systematics and ecology of the crustose corallines of the Gulf of Maine. Pseudolithophyllum orbiculatum, the only species of this genus in the region, is treated in this paper.