Finite Element Modeling of Hybrid Polymer Composite Beams

Published

October 16, 2008

Author(s)

Hai C. Tang, Tze J. Chuang, Tinh Nguyen, Joannie W. Chin, Hanchang F. Wu

Abstract

Fiber-reinforced polymeric composites provide lightweight, high strength, and corrosive resistance to severe environmental exposures. These composites have been extensively used in aerospace and military application over the last three decades and are being extended into civil engineering applications. The elastic modulus of glass fiber is approximately the same as that of aluminum, which is one-third that of steel. Thus, glass fiber reinforced alone composites can not replace steel or reinforced concrete in infrastructure applications because the load will cause excessive deflection. However, carbon fiber has the same or even higher modulus than that of steel. Unfortunately, carbon fiber is expensive in comparison to conventional construction materials, such as steel and reinforced concrete. Hybrid carbon fiber/glass fiber reinforced polymer composites have been considered to be economically feasible and have the strength and toughness to substitute for steel and steel reinforced concrete in infrastructure applications. A carbon fiber/glass fiber hybrid polymer composite beam can achieve the same yield strength and about three fourths of the stiffness of an equivalent steel beam. In this paper, we use advanced finite element analysis (FEA) computing methods to model the internal stress field in carbon/glass fiber hybrid composites and compare its load carrying capacity with that of steel having equivalent dimensions.

Citation

ANSYS Users Group Conference

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

beam, finite element modeling, hybrid polymer composites, infrastructure beams carbon/glass hybrid, pultrusion residual stresses, structure performance

Citation

Tang, H. , Chuang, T. , Nguyen, T. , Chin, J. and Wu, H. (2008), Finite Element Modeling of Hybrid Polymer Composite Beams, ANSYS Users Group Conference (Accessed August 6, 2025)