Dynamic Loading on Carbon Fiber Wind to HDPE Composite Pipe (CFWHCP)

Carbon fiber composite is regarded as one of the best alternative for light weight and anticorrosion
material. Filament winding is one of the technique for the fabrication of carbon
fiber reinforced composite pipe that is cheap and better mechanical properties. Different
carbon fiber orientation during the fabrication will have impact to the mechanical
properties of the composite and became the focal point of this research. Three different
arrangement of tow were used during the fabrication of Carbon Fiber Wind to HDPE
Composite Pipe (CFWHCP). The other parameter such as winding angle, winding
tension, the number of layers and epoxy content are kept constant to prevent interference
in the result. The microstructure of fabricated pipes were tested to calculate the area of
void. The results from the test shown that area of void for CFWHP with 4 tows of 12k
carbon fiber (1.26382x10-8 m2) is smaller by 53% compared to CFWHCP with 2 tows of
12k carbon fiber plus 4 tows of 6k carbon fiber. Compression test was carried out to
approve the hypothesis that different arrangement of tow can affect the mechanical
properties of CFWHCP. Subsequently, dynamic impact test was carried out to study how
CFWHCP will be affected under the impact and comparison was made between pipes of
different tow arrangement and in addition with blank High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
pipe. From the experiment, it can be concluded that CFWHCP with 4 tows of 12k carbon
fiber exhibit higher energy absorption, and can withstand higher load compared to
CFWHCP with 2 tows of 12k carbon fiber plus 4 tows of 6k carbon fiber. This is due to
smaller area of void detected on CFWHCP with 4 tows of 12k carbon fiber thus proven
that different orientation of carbon fiber tow during manufacturing can impact the
mechanical properties of CFWHCP.