MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Theses - Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering - Bachelor's degree
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Libraries
  • MIT Theses
  • Theses - Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering - Bachelor's degree
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Investigation of cork as filler for fiber-reinforced composite material in kayaks

Author(s)
Yeh, Chihjiun Connie
Thumbnail
DownloadFull printable version (17.68Mb)
Other Contributors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Advisor
David Wallace.
Terms of use
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
This project is a continuation in the investigation of ways in which cork can be incorporated into composite material for boats and kayaks without significant performance losses. Fiberglass lay-ups (cloth, mat, and epoxy) and cork-epoxy samples are prepared by vacuum bagging. Samples undergo a three-point bending test (ASTM D79o) and a Charpy impact test (ASTM D611o) to investigate maximum flexural stress, effective elastic modulus, and impact resistance. Fiberglass-epoxy samples serve as the control for comparing the results of the cork composite samples. The average flexural strength of the fiberglass ranged from 191-234 MPa with the different configurations of fiberglass cloth. The effective elastic modulus ranged from 8.4-10 MPa. These values fall in the lower range of other composites when compared to general Ashby charts. Its impact resistance, taken with respect to cross-sectional area to account for variations in the thickness from sample to sample in the formation process, ranged from 54.9 to 64.5 kJ/m2. The cork composite samples were at least four times weaker than their fiberglass counterparts in all investigated respects. However, the cork samples were up to three times lighter and needed less than half of the epoxy the fiberglass samples required. The inclusion of fiberglass cloth helped increase its strength significantly without sacrifice to weight, indicating the likely need to incorporate chopped fiberglass strands in future testing.
Description
Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2008.
 
Includes bibliographical references (p. 43).
 
Date issued
2008
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45267
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Mechanical Engineering.

Collections
  • Mechanical Engineering - Bachelor's degree
  • Mechanical Engineering - Bachelor's degree

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logo

Find us on

Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube RSS

MIT Libraries navigation

SearchHours & locationsBorrow & requestResearch supportAbout us
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibility
MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.