Mechanical behavior of Kevlar/basalt reinforced polypropylene composites

In this study, mechanical behavior of thermoplastic composites reinforced with two-dimensional plain woven homogeneous and hybrid fabrics of Kevlar/basalt yarns was studied. Five types (two homogeneous and three hybrids) of composite laminates were manufactured using compression molding technique with polypropylene (PP) resin. Static tensile and in-plane compression tests were carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of the laminates. The tension and in-plane compression tests had shown that the composites with the combination of Kevlar and basalt yarns present better tensile and in-plane compressive behavior as compared to their base composites. Improvement in the properties such as elastic modulus, strength and failure strain in both tension and in-plane compression was observed due to the hybridization. Numerical simulations were performed in ABAQUS/Standard by implementing a user-defined material subroutine (VUMAT) based on Chang-Chang criteria. Good agreement between the experimental and numerical simulations was achieved in terms of damage patterns.