Engineering Commons^™

Mechanical Response Of Vartm Infused Frp Composites, Andrew Kenney

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Mechanical Response of VARTM based FRP composites

Andrew Kenney

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently created two new design specification for rail tank cars. These new types of classification, DOT-117 and DOT-117R, are designed with additional safety precautions to prevent hazardous chemicals from leaking out in case of a derailment. Features such as a thicker outer steel wall, head shield, and top and bottom valve protections provide additional protection compared to the current DOT-113 tank cars at the cost of additional weight. The WVU-CFC proposes a multifunctional, composite jacket that could be used in place of current tank …

Experimental And Design Evaluation Of Multi-Bolted Gfrp Joints, Amir Hossein Houshmandyar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

For infrastructure system implementation, high strength/stiffness to self-weight ratio, corrosion resistance and ease of fabrication are just a few of the many advantages of pultruded fiber reinforced polymer (PFRP) composites over traditional construction materials. However, challenges of engineered FRP materials are addressed via continuous updating of design codes. For example, the anisotropic nature of FRP composite materials includes different mechanical properties in different directions (pull or longitudinal direction vs. transverse to pull direction) of a structural member, resulting in design complexities over isotropic materials. Typically, infrastructure systems are built by bolting FRP structural members because of certain advantages of bolted …