Optimum Design of Glass/Epoxy and Flax/Epoxy Laminated Composite Plates for Maximum Frequency Using a Stochastic Optimization Method
Melih Savran Levent Aydın Ozan Ayakdaş Savaş Öztürk Nilay Küçükdoğan
AbstractResearch projects on the development of eco-friendly and lightweight engineering structures in the automotive industry have become obligatory due to End-of-Life Vehicles Directives and regulations on emission limits (Euro 5 & Euro 6). Traditional fiber reinforced composite materials consisting glass, carbon and /or combination of these have been usually preferred instead of traditional metallic materials (such as steel, aluminum, etc.) in the automotive industry. However, an ecological approach in the automotive industry has stated that natural fibers are of great importance as alternative reinforcing materials to glass fibers since being agricultural sustainable material and lighter. In addition to being eco- friendly and lightweight, natural fibers are lower cost than synthetic fibers. For the automotive industry, weight and cost reduction without sacrificing from mechanical properties is an always important issue. The cost of some natural fiber, glass and graphite fiber are shown in Figure 1