32
A. M. Saat et al.
4.1 Introduction
Composite fiberglass is widely used in fabrication of boats, aircrafts, civil construction and other industries. Composite fiberglass materials are in high demand due
to their lightweight performance, ease of manufacturing, corrosion resistance, less
maintenance and low costs. However, the usage of composites in marine industries
is still lack behind due to limited knowledge about reliable analysis on explosion,
collision, impact and fire behavior [1]. A resin in a mixture of composite fiberglass
gives high flammability properties in the system which lead researcher to evaluate
various resin performances in marine structures [2]. Resin filled with alumina trihydrate (ATH) additive were introduced to composite fiberglass in order to replace
halogenate type fire-retardant additives. ATH reduce production of toxic gas and it
generates less smoke due to burning, however it needs a high percentage in resin in
order to be an efficient fire-retardant additive. Thus, a combination of ATH and APP
(ammonium polyphosphate) was introduced to reduce the ATH ratio and to increase
the fire-retardant performance without risking mechanical performance of the structure and to meet the toxicity requirement. Both aluminum and phosphate elements in
ATH and APP are important in the fire-retardant process. Layered aluminum phosphate has been reported to have flame retardant properties in polymer composites
[3]. Aluminum phosphate was also reported to have a good interaction in unsaturated polyester and composite fiberglass by structural analysis with the bond of Al
and phosphate in both polyester and composite fiberglass [4]. The thermal analysis
of unsaturated composite fiberglass in seven design layers also reported an increase
in char layer with an increase in the aluminum phosphate ratio, thus increasing the
flame retardancy [5]. The mechanical properties in a seven-layer composite fiberglass were reported to have an increase in tensile and flexural strength at a ratio of
5wt% of aluminum phosphate [6].
The mechanical properties, such as tensile and flexural strength, of composite
fiberglass with polyester matrix, vary with the type of reinforcement material, design
layer and fabrication method. Hand lay-up is a simple and easy method to fabricate
composite fiberglass and focused in this research. A number of researchers reported
on the tensile and flexural strength of various layers of composite fiberglass such
as three layers [7, 8], four layers [9], five layers [10], and seven layers [6] and ten
layers [11]. The Brinell method is one of popular methods conducted to measure
hardness of composite fiberglass. Elahi et al. 20 used 305.92 kg(f) with a 5 mm
steel ball indenter on 4 layers of composite fiberglass and recorded 37 BHN [12].
Meanwhile Chavan et al. [7] recorded 76 BHN by using a 1.6 mm steel ball indenter
with 100 kg(f) load. Additionally, Hasan et al. [10] recorded 39.9 HVN in 5 layers of
E glass. A summary of mechanical properties for composite fiberglass is presented
in Table 4.1. Meanwhile the fire-retardant performance of composite fiberglass still
lacks behind [1]. Recently, the fire-retardant performance of seven layers composite
fiberglass reported a reduced fire propagation at early stage [6]. However, analysis
of mechanical properties and fire performance related to types of fiberglass such as
chopped strand mat (CSM), woven roving (WR) and combination are still unknown.
A. M. Saat et al.
4.1 Introduction
Composite fiberglass is widely used in fabrication of boats, aircrafts, civil construction and other industries. Composite fiberglass materials are in high demand due
to their lightweight performance, ease of manufacturing, corrosion resistance, less
maintenance and low costs. However, the usage of composites in marine industries
is still lack behind due to limited knowledge about reliable analysis on explosion,
collision, impact and fire behavior [1]. A resin in a mixture of composite fiberglass
gives high flammability properties in the system which lead researcher to evaluate
various resin performances in marine structures [2]. Resin filled with alumina trihydrate (ATH) additive were introduced to composite fiberglass in order to replace
halogenate type fire-retardant additives. ATH reduce production of toxic gas and it
generates less smoke due to burning, however it needs a high percentage in resin in
order to be an efficient fire-retardant additive. Thus, a combination of ATH and APP
(ammonium polyphosphate) was introduced to reduce the ATH ratio and to increase
the fire-retardant performance without risking mechanical performance of the structure and to meet the toxicity requirement. Both aluminum and phosphate elements in
ATH and APP are important in the fire-retardant process. Layered aluminum phosphate has been reported to have flame retardant properties in polymer composites
[3]. Aluminum phosphate was also reported to have a good interaction in unsaturated polyester and composite fiberglass by structural analysis with the bond of Al
and phosphate in both polyester and composite fiberglass [4]. The thermal analysis
of unsaturated composite fiberglass in seven design layers also reported an increase
in char layer with an increase in the aluminum phosphate ratio, thus increasing the
flame retardancy [5]. The mechanical properties in a seven-layer composite fiberglass were reported to have an increase in tensile and flexural strength at a ratio of
5wt% of aluminum phosphate [6].
The mechanical properties, such as tensile and flexural strength, of composite
fiberglass with polyester matrix, vary with the type of reinforcement material, design
layer and fabrication method. Hand lay-up is a simple and easy method to fabricate
composite fiberglass and focused in this research. A number of researchers reported
on the tensile and flexural strength of various layers of composite fiberglass such
as three layers [7, 8], four layers [9], five layers [10], and seven layers [6] and ten
layers [11]. The Brinell method is one of popular methods conducted to measure
hardness of composite fiberglass. Elahi et al. 20 used 305.92 kg(f) with a 5 mm
steel ball indenter on 4 layers of composite fiberglass and recorded 37 BHN [12].
Meanwhile Chavan et al. [7] recorded 76 BHN by using a 1.6 mm steel ball indenter
with 100 kg(f) load. Additionally, Hasan et al. [10] recorded 39.9 HVN in 5 layers of
E glass. A summary of mechanical properties for composite fiberglass is presented
in Table 4.1. Meanwhile the fire-retardant performance of composite fiberglass still
lacks behind [1]. Recently, the fire-retardant performance of seven layers composite
fiberglass reported a reduced fire propagation at early stage [6]. However, analysis
of mechanical properties and fire performance related to types of fiberglass such as
chopped strand mat (CSM), woven roving (WR) and combination are still unknown.