• Impact of Carbon Fiber Reinforcement on the Performance of IPN-Based Elliptical Leaf Springs

  • R. Vezhavendhan, G. Suresh*,† , Meenakshi Chinnathambi Muthukaruppan**, P. Chandramohan***, Dinesh Kumar Madheswaran****, and R. Ganesamoorthy*****

  • School of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Manufacturing Engineering, VIT, Vellore, 632014, India.
    *Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology, Chennai, 600124, India.
    **Senior Analyst, HCL America INC, USA.
    ***Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai, 602105, India.
    ****Department of Automobile Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, 603203, India.
    *****Center for Material Research, Chennai Institute of Technology, Chennai, 600069, India.

  • 탄소 섬유 보강이 IPN 기반 타원형 리프스프링 성능에 미치는 영향

  • Reproduction, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form of any part of this publication is permitted only by written permission from the Polymer Society of Korea.

Abstract

In recent decades, composites have been touted as potential replacement material across various domains due to their higher weight-to-stiffness ratio compared to metallic materials. This research focuses on utilizing carbon fiber as the primary reinforcement in conjunction with different matrix blends such as epoxy with vinyl ester (EV), vinyl ester with polyurethane (VP), and epoxy with polyurethane (EP) to manufacture elliptical leaf springs. To validate the thermal and physical properties of the fabricated leaf spring, tests like differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TG), load-deflection and cyclic loading (fatigue) analyses were conducted. Among these tests, combinations of carbon-reinforced epoxy with vinyl ester (CEV) demonstrated higher compression test results with a slight reduction in displacement. Similarly, carbon-reinforced vinyl ester with polyurethane (CVP) exhibited better performance in cyclic loading compared to carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy with polyurethane (CEP). All obtained results were thoroughly compared to determine the most suitable implementation in the automotive field.


Keywords: carbon, epoxy, vinyl ester, polyurethane, leaf spring, physical tests.

  • Polymer(Korea) 폴리머
  • Frequency : Bimonthly(odd)
    ISSN 2234-8077(Online)
    Abbr. Polym. Korea
  • 2023 Impact Factor : 0.4
  • Indexed in SCIE

This Article

  • 2025; 49(1): 67-75

    Published online Jan 25, 2025

  • 10.7317/pk.2025.49.1.67
  • Received on Jul 5, 2024
  • Revised on Sep 9, 2024
  • Accepted on Oct 9, 2024

Correspondence to

  • G. Suresh

  • *Department of Mechanical Engineering, Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology, Chennai, 600124, India.

  • E-mail: saisuresh1979@gmail.com