Mechanical Characterization of Extended-Chain Polyethylene (ECPE) Fiber-Reinforced Composites

Abstract

Composite materials reinforced with extended-chain polyethylene (ECPE) fibers are unlike typical stiff and brittle composite materials such as graphite/epoxy or fiberglass. The high ductility and energy absorption capacity of the ECPE reinforcing fibers gives these composites a unique mechanical response which makes them ideally suited for a variety of applications. However, this dissimilarity with more common materials requires special consideration of mechanical properties testing. In this paper, the mechanical behavior of ECPE-fiber-reinforced composites is investigated using standard composite test methods. Results of these tests are presented and discussed based on the properties of the ECPE reinforcing fibers and on the assumptions inherent in the test methods. ECPE/epoxy composites are characterized by high ultimate tensile strength, high tensile modulus, low shear modulus and strength, and viscoelastic response to loading. The highest available combination of fiber strength and strain-to-failure gives this material ductility and energy absorption capacity significantly higher than other common composite materials. Applications of ECPE composites are discussed.

Keywords

polyethylene fibers composites materials properties testing ductile damage-tolerance armor protective hybrid

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Weedon

G. C.

Tam

T. Y.

. 1985. “Properties and Applications of Extended Chain Polyethylene,” UMIST Symp. on High Perf. Fibers, Textiles and Composites..

Adams

D. F.

Zimmerman

R. S.

Chang

H.-W.

. 1985. “Properties of a Polymer-Matrix Composite Incorporating Allied A-900 Polyethylene Fiber,” SAMPE Journal, 21 (5):44–48.

Chang

H.-W.

Lin

L. C.

Bhatnagar

. 1986. “Properties and Applications of Composites Made of Polyethylene Fibers,” Proc. 31st Int. SAMPE Symp., pp. 859–866.

Stein

H. L.

1989. “Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylenes (UHMWPE),” Engineered Materials Handbook, Vol. II—Engineered Plastics. Metals Park, OH: ASM International, pp. 167–171.

Tam

T. Y.

Boone

M. B.

Weedon

G. C.

. 1988. “New Horizons in Advanced Oriented Fiber,” Polym. Eng. Sci., 28 (13):871–877.

Wang

L. H.

Porter

R. S.

Kanamoto

. 1990. “A Review of the Tensile Modulus of Polyethylene Fibers,” Polym. Commun., 31:457–460.

Porter

R. S.

Kanamoto

. 1994. “A Review of the Tensile Strength of Polyethylene Fibers,” Polym. Engrg. Sci., 34 (4):266–268.

Leblans

P. J. R.

Bastiaansen

C. W. M.

Govaert

L. E.

. 1989. “Viscoelastic Properties of UHMW-PE Fibers in Simple Elongation,” J. Polymer Science: Part B: Polymer Physics, 27:1009–1016.

Govaert

L. E.

1990. “Deformation Behavior of Oriented Polyethylene Fibers,” Ph.D. dissertation, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands.

10.

Kaplan

S. L.

Rose

P. W.

Nguyen

H. X.

Chang

H.-W.

. 1988. “Gas Plasma Treatment of SPECTRA Fiber,” SAMPE Quarterly, 19 (4):55–59.

11.

Tissington

Pollard

Ward

I. M.

. 1991. “A Study of the Influence of Fibre/Resin Adhesion on the Mechanical Behavior of Ultra-High-Modulus Polyethylene Fibre Composites,” J. of Matls. Sci., 26:82–92.

12.

1987. ASTM Standards and Literature References for Composite Materials. Philadelphia: American Society for Testing and Materials.

13.

Prevorsek

D. C.

Chin

H. B.

. 1989. “Properties of SPECTRA™ Fibers and Composites at Ballistic Rates of Deformation,” Proc. 21st Int. SAMPE Techn. Conf., pp. 812–823.

14.

Schwartz

Netravali

Sembach

. 1986. “Effects of Strain Rate and Gauge Length on the Failure of Ultra-High Strength Polyethylene Fibers,” Textile Res. J., 56 (8):502–508.

15.

Tsai

S. W.

1988. Composites Design, 4th Ed. Think Composites.

16.

Poursartip

Remmer

Bennett

. 1989. “Creep and Stress Relaxation of Polyethylene Fiber Hybrid Laminates,” Proc. 34th Int. SAMPE Symp., pp. 352–357.

17.

Poursartip

Chu

Remmer

. 1990. “Effect of Fibre Hybridization on Creep and Stress Relaxation of Polyethylene Fiber Composites,” Proc. 35th Int. SAMPE Symp., pp. 650–661.

18.

Carlsson

L. A.

Pipes

R. B.

. 1987. Experimental Characterization of Advanced Composite Materials. Prentice-Hall.

19.

Browning

C. E.

Abrams

F. L.

Whitney

J. M.

. 1983. “A Four-Point Shear Test for Graphite/Epoxy Composites,” Composite Materials: Quality Assurance and Processing, ASTM STP 797, Browning

C. E.

, ed., American Society for Testing and Materials, pp. 54–74.

20.

Scholle

K. F. M. G. J.

1988. “Fracture Toughness of High Performance Polyethylene Fibre/Epoxy Composites,” Proc. 33rd Int. SAMPE Symp., pp. 158–168.

21.

Timoshenko

S. P.

1984. Strength of Materials, Part I. Krieger Publishing.

22.

Wood

G. M.

1988. “Treatment of Polyethylene Fibers for Improved Fiber-to-Resin Adhesion in Composite Applications,” MASc thesis, Dept. of Metals & Materials Engrg., University of British Columbia.

23.

Ladizesky

N. H.

Pang

M. K. M.

. 1992. “Mechanisms of Failure of Polymeric Resins Reinforced with High-Modulus Polyethylene Fibres—A Microscopic Investigation,” Compos. Sci. Techn., 44:127–136.

24.

Bert

C. W.

1977. “Models for Fibrous Composites with Different Properties in Tension and Compression,” J. Eng. Matls. and Techn., 99 (10):344–349.

25.

Lin

L. C.

Bhatnagar

Chang

H. W.

. 1990. “Ballistic Energy Absorption of Composites,” Proc. 22nd Int. SAMPE Tech. Conf., pp. 1–13.

26.

Prevorsek

D. C.

Kwon

Y. D.

Chin

H. B.

. 1994. “Analysis of the Temperature Rise in the Projectile and Extended Chain Polyethylene Fiber Composite Armor during Ballistic Impact and Penetration,” Polym. Eng. Sci., 34 (2):141–152.

27.

Segal

C. L.

1991. “High Performance Organic Fibers, Fabrics and Composites for Soft and Hard Armor Applications,” 23rd Int. SAMPE Tech. Conf., pp. 651–660.

28.

Chen

Jang

Hwang

Hawkes

Zee

. 1988. “Impact and Penetration Resistance of Fibrous Composites,” Proc. ANTEC1988, pp. 1626–1629.

29.

Jang

B. Z.

Chen

L. C.

Wang

C. Z.

Lin

H. T.

Zee

R. H.

. 1989. “Impact Resistance and Energy Absorption Mechanisms in Hybrid Composites” Compos. Sci. Techn., 34:305–335.

30.

Jang

B. Z.

Chen

L. C.

Hwang

L. R.

Hawkes

J. E.

Zee

R. H.

. 1990. “The Response of Fibrous Composites to Impact Loading,” Polym. Compos., 11 (2): 144–157.

31.

Tissington

Pollard

Ward

I. M.

. 1992. “A Study of the Impact Behavior of Ultra-High-Modulus Polyethylene Fibre Composites,” Compos. Sci. and Techn., 44:197–208.

32.

Cordova

D. S.

Collier

L. S.

. 1992. “A Review of Ultrahigh Modulus Polyethylene Fiber Reinforced Composites for Electromagnetic Window Applications,” Proc. 37th Int. SAMPE Symp., pp. 1406–1420.

33.

Nguyen

H. X.

1991. “Composites Reinforced with Extended Chain Polyethylene Fibers: Acoustically Transparent Materials for Underwater Applications,” Proc. 36th Int. SAMPE Symp., pp. 1836–1847.

34.

Sloan

Nguyen

. 1992. Applications of ECPE Fibers in the Marine Composites Industry,” Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Marine Applications of Composite Materials, MACM1992, Florida Institute of Technology.

35.

1992. DOD-MIL-STD 2105A. “Hazard Assessment Test for Non-Nuclear Munitions.”.

36.

Mantena

P. R.

Gibson

R. F.

. 1990. “Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Polyethylene/Graphite Composites,” Proc. 22nd Int. SAMPE Techn. Conf..

37.

Ashley

1992. “Safety in the Sky: Designing Bomb-Resistant Baggage Containers,” Mechanical Engineering (June):81–86.

38.

Adams

D. F.

Zimmerman

R. S.

. 1986. “Static and Impact Properties of Polyethylene Fiber/Graphite Fiber Hybrid Composites,” Proc. 31st Int. SAMPE Symp., pp. 1456–1468.

39.

Ladizesky

N. H.

Ward

I. M.

. 1986. “Ultra-High Modulus Polyethylene Composites: III—An Exploratory Study of Hybrid Composites,” Compos. Sci. Techn., 26:199–224.

40.

Cordova

D. S.

Cordova

C. W.

. 1987. “Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Composites—Advantages over Traditional Single Fiber Systems,” Proc. ANTEC1987, pp. 767–772.

41.

Peijs

A. A. J. M.

Lemstra

P. J.

. 1989. “Hybrid Composites Based on Polyethylene/Carbon Fibres, I. Compressive and Impact Behavior,” Proc. 3rd Rolduc Polymer Meeting, Elsevier, pp. 218–227.

42.

Peijs

A. A. J. M.

Catsman

Govaert

L. E.

Lemstra

P. J.

. 1990. “Hybrid Composites Based on Polyethylene and Carbon Fibres, Part 2: Influence of Composition and Adhesion Level of Polyethylene Fibers on Mechanical Properties” Composites, 21 (6):513–521.

43.

Peijs

A. A. J. M.

Venderbosch

R. W.

Lemstra

P. J.

. 1990. “Hybrid Composites Based on Polyethylene and Carbon Fibres, Part 3: Impact Resistant Structural Composites through Damage Management,” Composites, 21 (6):522–530.

44.

Peijs

A. A. J. M.

Venderbosch

R. W.

. 1991. “Hybrid Composites Based on Polyethylene and Carbon Fibres: Part IV—Influence of Hybrid Design on Impact Strength,” J. Mater. Sci. Letters, 10:1122–1124.

45.

Busgen

A. W.

Effing

Scholle

. 1989. “Improved Damage Tolerance of Carbon Fibre Composites by Hybridization with Polyethylene Fibers,” Proc. American Soc. for Composites, 4th Techn. Conf., pp. 418–424.

46.

Govaert

L. E.

Peijs

A. A. J. M.

D'Hooghe

E. L. J. C. J.

. 1991. “A Micromechanical Approach to the Viscoelasticity of Unidirectional Hybrid Composites,” Composites, 22 (2):113–119.