Experimental investigation and optimization using meta heuristics for carbon fiber reinforced polyester composites of an automobile leaf spring

Abstract

Thermoplastics are finding place in the current industrial sector due its load bearing capacities. There was lack of knowledge in understanding the load bearing capacities of heterogeneous materials. In this research, suspension through short fiber reinforced thermoplastic material was given importance due to its adaptability. Before entering to product development, relevant mechanical properties for leaf spring applications; wear properties and damping characteristics were investigated. Unreinforced polyester, 20% short carbon fiber reinforced polyester and 20% long carbon fiber reinforced polyester materials were used for leaf spring materials and manufacturing was done through injection moulding. Manufactured leaf springs were evaluated for static, fatigue as short term creep performances were evaluated. newlineCharacteristics such as abrasiveness and adhesiveness were investigated by pin on disc configuration. Wear performance was influenced by fiber length, plastic deformation energy and material crystallinity. Free and forced vibrations were given to analyze the damping sources for the leaf springs. Fiber density was found to influence the damping behavior of composites significantly. Hysteretic area measurement indicated energy dissipation when the test materials were subjected to elastic as well as plastic deformation. Than the reinforced material, higher energy dissipation was exhibited by unreinforced material. Due to the presence of more fiber ends, SFPE showed higher energy dissipation than LFPE. When compared to that of SFPE and UFPE, improved fiber matrix bonding and presence of less fiber ends in LFPE improved wear resistance. With the increase in load during adhesive and abrasive modes for all the materials, specific wear rate and wear volume of the test materials also increased. newline newline newline