| dc.description.abstract | A magnetic lift that utilizes magnetic polarization to create “on” and “off” conditions is used to easily and safely apply consolidation pressure on E-glass/epoxy laminates fabricated using the wet layup/vacuum bagging (WLVB) method. Chopped strand, random mat and plain weave glass fabrics are chosen to explore the effects of implementing this inexpensive and easy-to-use tool. The improvement of laminate quality is studied by investigating the fiber volume fractions, void volume fractions, and flexure properties of laminates fabricated with this modified WLVB method. These material properties were successfully improved for both fabric types. The fiber volume fraction of the random mat laminates is improved by 44.5% from 18.9% to 34.1%, and by 14.4% from 45.7% to 53.2% for the plain weave laminates. The percent reduction in void volume fractions for the random mat and plain weave laminates are 58.1% from 1.74% to 0.73%, and 57.3% from 3.44% to 1.47%, respectively. The mechanical properties were also improved by sliding the magnet across the surface of the laminates. The improvement in the flexural strength of the random mat laminates is 45.2% from 248.7 MPa to 454.0 MPa, and the improvement to the elastic modulus is 46.8% from 7.7 GPa to 14.4 GPa. For the plain weave laminates, the improvement in flexural strength and elastic modulus are 16.5% from 638.9 MPa to 765.2 MPa, and 21.3% from 24.1 GPa to 30.6 GPa, respectively. | en_US |
