×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

new material

new material

new material

(OP)
I am developing a composite that will utilize silk as the reinforcing component within a thermoset plastic and am trying to find information that will help me decide whether or not degradation of the protein strand is going to be a long term factor in the finished product. Chemistry is not my field and any help would be muchly appreciated.
Grapes

RE: new material

   Dear Greg,
     I am not shure that you would actualy be making a composite type material as the two conponants are not dissimilar enough.
      The long term problem you are concerned about should not be a problem as the "chemistry" will be finished shortly after the product is made.
       A good source for information in this area is a book by the O.U. Materials in action series "Stuctural Materials" by Butterworths, Borough Green, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 8PH, England.

RE: new material

Interesting. First, I believe a more appropriate term might be "hybrid material" (same reasoning as Greg).

Second, (I am assumeing that the silk will melt, though please correct me if this is a misassumption) are you concerned with the temperature sensitivity of silk in the process, or is it your intention that the melted silk will better fuse and integrate w/the thermoset?

Thanks,

Joe

RE: new material

well, the approach sounds more like an attempt to make a biodegradable hybrid. Moisture would definitely penetrate through the resin and together with the ionics that may be present in the resin, long term ageing is definitely a concern as is with the natural fibre reinforced composites.

good luck

/SS/

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources