EXPERIMENTAL RESPONSES OF MWCNTS REINFORCED CROSS-PLY THIN COMPOSITE SHELLS UNDER TRANSVERSE IMPACT AND THERMAL LOADS

Abstract

Experimental study of transient response for different load ratio (0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 1.0)wt% of Multi-Walled Carbon Nano-Tubes (MWCNTs) reinforced matrix of composite in addition to woven carbon fiber. Thermal Low Velocity Impact (TLVI) apparatus have been designed to meet the different testing conditions. The effect of transient vibration by impact loading on simply supported curved composite shell with and without thermal condition has been studied experimentally. An improvement occurred in settling time about 62.0% at increased of weight ratio reinforcement up to 1.0wt% of MWCNTs, and under thermal condition the settling time reduced about 44.0%. The results showed that the material which be selected under thermal condition must be include the weighed ratio 0.4wt% because all the specimens reinforced with the mentioned weighted ratios of MWCNTs failed under thermal test except those that containing 0.4wt% and these results enhanced by other results such as the Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). In addition to the passivity of the composite shell structure due to reinforcement by woven carbon fiber and MWCNTs, active double integral of sliding mode controller (SMC) is used with piezoelectric components. The results indicated that an important improvement in transient response at maximum over shoot of the middle surface point about (95.8%) and (50%) in settling time, with SMC the specimens reach the steady state at short time.