Type of Document	Master's Thesis
Author	Peck, Jerry Alan
Author's Email Address	jpeck@lsu.edu
URN	etd-07052006-201255
Title	Effect of Light Intensity and Weld Thickness on the Performance of UV-Cured FRP Composite Joints
Degree	Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)
Department	Entomology
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Guoqiang Li Committee Co-Chair Su-Seng Pang Committee Co-Chair Eyassu Woldesenbet Committee Member Marcio S. de Queiroz Committee Member
Keywords	composite pipe joints FRP composite pipe UV curing
Date of Defense	2006-06-30
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Thirty-six FRP composite welds were wetted with UV curing vinyl ester resin and used to join fiberglass tubes. The effects of UV light intensity and weld thickness on performance (as measured by bursting pressure and stiffness) were evaluated to determine optimal conditions for joint construction. The joined composite pipes were cured vertically with UV lamps at three different light intensities, 80 mW/cm2, 35 mW/cm2 and 15 mW/cm2 to isolate the effect of UV light intensity. Eight-layer, five-layer and three-layer joints were prepared and cured at constant light intensity to evaluate the effect of reducing the thickness of the composite joint. Finite element analysis (FEA) models were developed to simulate the physical conditions of testing, known mechanical properties of the materials used, and the negative effects of under curing and gravity leaching of resin due to vertical curing. The mechanism for variation in performance is under curing; joint performance is increased by reducing the incidence of under curing by increasing light intensity and decreasing joint thickness.
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    Peck_thesis.pdf 3.83 Mb 00:17:43 00:09:06 00:07:58 00:03:59 00:00:20