Discussion

From the results of the tensile test , the specimens made up of chopped strand mat fibreglass
and epoxy resin did not live up to the expected maximum loading of between 18kN and 22
kN. The main reason contributing to this lack in strength is mainly that chopped strand
mat(CSM) is used. CSM is said to provide strength in all directions in accordance to their
random arrangement. This proves to be a disadvantage in tensile where the force applied in
one direction only as compared to woven roving which has bidirectional fibre orientation.
Apart from that, by using CSM, more resin tends to be used as CSM has absorption
properties. Since resin does not help in load distribution but has more volume than fibre, it
weakens the specimen.

The next reason lies in the fabrication process. The fabrication method used was wet hand lay
up. During this process, there were man air bubbles trapped even after rolling the wet
specimen with a roller. Many voids were created and thus weakened the specimen.

Apart from that, during the cutting process, stress was induced into the panels. This could be
due to the blades quality or the way the panel was handled before the specimens were
produced.

Lastly, the specimen was made to be slightly larger than the grips of the tensile test machine.
This leaves exposed parts of the specimen and unequal loading at the specimen ends. That’s
why the failure occurs closer to the ends of the specimen.

There are many sources of errors which further influenced the results. Firstly, when designing
the composite panel, the volume fraction of fibre and resin is not accurate. Secondly, when
cutting the fiberglass using the scissors, the chopped pieces were moved. When fabricating
the composite panel, the environment was not controlled leaving impurities such as dust and
air to contaminate the panel. When rolling the epoxy resin into the fibreglass, there were error
rolls that caused the specimen to be uneven. During testing, to prevent slipping, sandpaper
was used on the ends of the specimen. However, minute slipping did occur.

To improve the results, firstly, the fibreglass type should be changed to woven roving or the
epoxy resin changed to polyester resin. Next, the environment should be more controlled.
One way to do this is to use the resin infusion method instead as the composite panel is in a
vacuum. Apart from this, the end of the specimen should be made with grip and the clamps of
the tensile test machine as well to reduce slipping.
Conclusion
The task given was to fabricate a composite panel made up of fibreglass and resin that can
withstand 18kN to 22kN of a testing method of choice such as compression test and bending
test. The test chosen was tensile test. From the experiment, the maximum loading was [insert
results] and the average maximum loading was [insert result]. This means the composite
panel did not reach the maximum load goal. There are several factors to why this happened.

It is concluded that chopped strand mat is not suitable for applications where force is applied
in one direction. With proper enforcement, it is good for applications where force comes from
all directions such as a boat hull where the water hits all over the boat. There were also flaws
in the composite panel during the fabrication and cutting process as well as the testing.