Browsing by Author "Kayvantash, Kambiz"
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Item Open Access Fabrication, Characterization and low-velocity impact testing of hybrid sandwich composites with polyurethane/layered silicate foam cores(John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2011-01-31T00:00:00Z) Njuguna, James A. K.; Michalowski, Slawomir; Pielichowski, Krzysztof; Kayvantash, Kambiz; Walton, A. C.A series of nanophased hybrid sandwich composites based on polyurethane/montmorillonite (PU/MMT) has been fabricated and characterised. Polyaddition reaction of the polyol premix with 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate was applied to obtain nanophased polyurethane foams which were then used for fabrication of sandwich panels. It has been found that the incorporation of MMT resulted in higher number of PU cells with smaller dimensions and higher anisotropy index (cross-sections RI and RII). The obtained materials exhibited improved parameters in terms of thermal insulation properties. The results also show that nanophased sandwich structures are capable of upholding withstanding higher peak loads than those made of neat polyurethane foam cores when subject to low-velocity impact despite lower density than that of neat PU foams. This is especially significant for multi-impact recurrences within the threshold loads and energies studied.Item Open Access Low Velocity Impact Behavior of Glass Filled Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic Engine Components(MDPI AG, 2010-03-31T00:00:00Z) Mouti, Zakaria; Westwood, Keith; Kayvantash, Kambiz; Njuguna, James A. K.This paper concerns automotive parts located underneath the engine and in particular the engine oil pan. Classically made of stamped steel or cast aluminum, new developments have allowed the manufacture oil pans with polyamide 66 reinforced by 35% weight of short glass fiber. However, polyamides have some limitations and the most significant is their response to localized impact loading. The nature of the impact considered here is of a typical stone collected from the road and projected into the oil pan. Low velocity impact investigations were carried out using a gas gun and drop weight tower. The study shows that the design of the oil pan has a significant contribution in the shock absorption. In addition to the material properties, the geometry and the ribbing both cleverly combined, increase the impact resistance of the component significantly. Areas of oil pan design improvement have been identified and conclusions drawn.