| The focus of this research was on the combination of fibers, Kevlar-49 and E-Glass, to obtain a low thermal expansion material. The low thermal expansion material is being designed for uses in different applications. Low thermal expansion materials could be used for bridges and would remove the need for expansion joints. This could be a significant improvement over the current standard for building bridges, as expansion joints in bridges are very expensive to construct and to maintain.;The textile preform was an eight-harness satin weave and the matrix was a vinyl ester, Atlac-580, from Reichhold Chemical, Inc. The method for producing the woven hybrid fiber reinforced composite material was Resin Transfer Molding (RTM). In addition to the coefficient of thermal expansion, ;Results showed that a 100% warp fiber of Kevlar-49 and 100% fill fiber of E-Glass gave an ;The modulus of elasticity, E, values were within 10% of each other no matter the fiber content in the warp or fill fiber directions. Pure E-Glass in the warp and fill directions gave an E of 3.91 ;The curing of the samples in an aluminum mold used in the RTM process showed that the post-curing needed to be equal to or greater than 90 minutes in the oven and the post-cure temperature needed to be equal to or greater than 110... |
