J. Huang

Bio: J. Huang is an academic researcher from University of Southern Queensland. The author has contributed to research in topics: Epoxy & Ultimate tensile strength. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 3 publications receiving 14 citations.

Tensile Tests of Glass Powder Reinforced Epoxy Composites: Pilot Study

Abstract: Epoxy resin was filled with glass powder to optimize the strength and of the composite for structural applications by a research centre in the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). In order to reduce costs, the centre wishes to fill as much glass microspheres as possible subject to maintaining sufficient strength and fracture toughness of the composites in structural applications. This project varies the percentage by weight of the glass powder in the composites. After casting the composites to the moulds, they were cured at ambient conditions for 24 hours. They were then post-cured in a conventional oven and subjected to tensile tests. It was found that the best percentage of glass powder by weight that can be added to the epoxy resin to give an optimum yield and tensile strengths as well as Young modulus and cost was five percent. It was also found that the fractured surfaces examined under scanning electron microscope were correlated with the fracture toughness. The contribution of the study was that if tensile properties were the most important factors to be considered in the applications of the composites, glass powder is not a suitable filler. It is also hoped that the discussion and results in this work would not only contribute towards the development of glass powder reinforced epoxy composites with better material properties, but also useful for the investigations of tensile properties in other composites.

Flexural Properties of Epoxy Composites Filled with Glass Powder: Preliminary Results

Abstract: Epoxy resin was filled with glass powder with a view to increasing strength of the composite for structural applications by a research Centre on composites, University of Southern Queensland (USQ). In order to reduce costs, the Centre wishes to fill as much glass powder as possible subject to maintaining sufficient strength of the composites in structural applications. This project varies the percentage by weight of the glass powder in the composites which are then subjected to flexural tests. The results show that composite with 25 % by weight of the glass powder produces the highest flexural strength and Young’s modulus combined with a reasonable fluidity for casting; the highest flexural strain was achieved when the percentage by weight of glass powder is 10 %.

A Pilot Study on the Relationship between Mechanical and Electrical Loss Tangents of Glass Powder Reinforced Epoxy Composites Post-Cured in Microwaves

Abstract: The mechanical and thermal properties of hollow glass powder reinforced epoxy resin composites have been measured and evaluated in earlier studies. This basic but critical and important data have caused interests in the relevant industry in Australia. This study is therefore carried out to measure and evaluate the dielectric properties of the composites with a view to benefit the relevant industry. The relationship between the dielectric and thermal properties will also be studied and correlated. The original contributions of this paper are that samples post-cured in conventional ovens have higher electrical as well as mechanical loss tangent values than their counterparts cured in microwaves only. The storage modulus of all samples post-cured conventionally is higher than its counterpart. This is in line with the fact that they are softer material with lower glass transition temperatures. For all percentages by weight of glass powder, the glass transition temperature for the microwave cured sample was higher and the composite was stiffer; the opposite was true for the conventionally cured samples.

Novel method for improving fatigue behavior of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composite

Abstract: The fatigue prone structures made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites (CFRPCs) are frequently used in aerospace, defense, structural, and automotive applications. In this work, a novel method was reported that increases the fatigue life of CFRPC (96.56% at an average) by interface strengthening. The fatigue life of CFRPC composite was evaluated using the standard bending cyclic fatigue test. The CFRPCs were prepared by the hand layup method using a specially designed compression molding setup. The waste glass powder and PVA adhesive were used for treating the carbon fibers (CFs). The statistical analysis was used to interpret the effect of the volume fraction variation of the treated/untreated CFs on the cyclic fatigue strength (CFS) of the CFRPC. The effect of treatment and the load ration (R) on CFS of CFRPC were reported. The finite element (FE) model was developed using the transient analysis in COMSOL multi-physics (Explicit Dynamics Module) to obtain the deformation and stresses for treated/untreated CFRPC made using single tow of the carbon fiber. The experimentation on treated and untreated single tow CFRPC was performed to validate and complement the FE model. The stress-deformation-life relations for CFRPC were established. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were used to establish the structure-property relationship and explain the basis for increment in CFS of CFRPC. Analysis of variance was conducted to ensure the validity of the experimental results.

Modeling improved fatigue behavior of sugarcane fiber reinforced epoxy composite using novel treatment method

Abstract: The use of natural fiber composites in the fatigue prone structures is limited due to the lower strength and durability when compared to the carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites. The present work focuses on improving the bending cyclic fatigue strength (CFS) of the sugarcane fiber reinforced epoxy composite (SFRPC) by a novel treatment method. The treatment has increased up to 40% fatigue life of SFRPC by fiber and interface strengthening. The fatigue life was evaluated using the standard bending cyclic fatigue test. The SFRPCs were prepared using a specially designed compression molding setup by the hand layup method. The sugar cane fibers (SCF) were treated using the waste glass powder and PVA adhesive. The statistical analysis was conducted to observe the effect of the treatment method, the load ration (R) on CFS of treated/untreated SFRPC. A comparison of CFS of SFRPC (treated/untreated) with CFRPC is presented based on the author's previous work. A finite element based model was constituted for predicting the elastic properties of SFRPC (treated/untreated) at different fiber proportions. Additionally, a finite element (FE) model was constituted using the transient analysis in ANSYS (Explicit Dynamics Module) for obtaining the deformation and Von Mises stress at different R for the corresponding life of the treated/untreated SFRPC sample. A theoretical explanation for improved fatigue behavior of SFRPC was presented using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs and FE results collectively. The stress-strain-life relations for treated/untreated SFRPC were established. It was found that the shear yielding resulted due to the fracture of the outer glass layer of the SCF resulted in the higher CFS of the treated SERPC.

Factors that Influence the Electric Field Effects on Fungal Cells

Abstract: Fungi are an important group of microorganisms studied due to on their positive biochemical abilities as starter cultures in biotechnology to positive modify food characteristics and stability and at the same time they play an important role in the development of products with economical importance such as: enzyme, vitamins, organic acids and antibiotics. On the other hand, the spoilage of food by fungi is a serious economic issue; therefore the control of fungi is essential and decisive. In recent years, the use of electric field for microbial inactivation has received much attention in applied microbiology. Pulsed electric field (PEF), a food preservation method, has proved to inactivate the spoilage microorganisms and also pathogens. The process consists in the application of a short duration high electric field to food product, which is placed between two electrodes. Successful application of PEF depends strongly on the cells morphology and physiological properties, the fluid medium properties, the type and characteristics of the used electric field waveform. The overall aim of this review is to systematically present the factors that influence the electric field effects on fungal cells.