Search results for " Fracture toughness"

Thermoelastic Stress Analysis of modified Transverse Cut Tensile composite specimens under pure Mode II fatigue delamination

2018

The present work investigates the behaviour of a Transvers Crack Tensile (TCT) specimen undergoing fatigue loading, by means of a Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA) experimental setup. The TCT is a tensile composite specimen where a number of internal layers are cut through the beam width. The presence of such transverse notch favours the formation of interlaminar Mode II delaminations, starting from the notch tips and propagating between the cut and continuous plies. In this work, a modification is adopted to the classic TCT specimen, where insert films, mimicking artificial delaminations, are laid across the notch tips. This is done with the purpose to favour a pure Mode II and a symmetr…

The effect of through-thickness compressive stress on mode II interlaminar fracture toughness

2017

Abstract The effect of through-thickness compressive stress on mode II interlaminar fracture toughness is investigated experimentally and replicated numerically. The modified Transverse Crack Tensile specimen recently proposed by the authors is used, together with an experimental device designed to apply a constant transverse compressive stress on the surface of the specimen. Experiments are conducted using IM7/8552 specimens for different compressive stresses, ranging from 0 to 100 MPa, covering all the practical applications commonly encountered in the aeronautical industry (e.g., tightened filled holes or bolted joints). It is shown that mode II interlaminar fracture toughness increases …

The durability of carbon fiber/epoxy composites under hydrothermal ageing

2011

Studies on fibre reinforced composites are now receiving greater attention. Industrial applications have been successful in areas like aerospace, automobile, marine, construction and sporting goods. The first generation of epoxy resins for use in carbon fibre composites are able to achieve optimized high stiffness modules and high heat resistance by a high crosslink density, reached through thermal curing. However, these formulations can be very toxic and brittle with low crack resistance, which was a major disadvantage for structural applications. In the last years the use of ionizing radiation as alternative to thermal curing has been proposed as an environmentally friendly process. Furth…

Interlaminar fracture toughness behavior of electron-beam cured carbon-fiber reinforced epoxy-resin composites

2013

The work describes the preparation and physical-mechanical characterization of unidirectional CFRP panels manufactured by an electron beam curing technique. Delamination fracture toughness in Mode I and II is investigated in order to evaluate the influence of fiber–matrix adhesion strength, matrix toughness and matrix crosslinking density as determined by the radiation curing process. A matrix system comprising a DGEBA epoxy monomer and an initiator of cationic polymerization have been used, with one batch of resin mixed with a PES monomer in order to enhance matrix toughness. Curing was achieved with a pulsed 10 MeV Electron Beam accelerator. Thermally cured composite systems have also bee…

ELECTROSPUN NANOFIBROUS MATS IN FIBRE REINFORCED EPOXY LAMINATES

Radiation curing of carbon fibre composites

2014

Epoxy/carbon fibre reinforced composites were produced by means of e-beam irradiation through a pulsed 10 MeV electron beam accelerator. The matrix consisted of a difunctional epoxy monomer (DGEBA) and an initiator of cationic polymerisation, while the reinforcement was a unidirectional high modulus carbon fibre fabric. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis was carried out in order to determine the cross-linking degree. The analysis pointed out a nonuniformity in the cross-linking degree of the e-beam cured panels, with the formation of clusters at low Tg (glass transition temperature) and clusters at high Tg. An out-of-mould post irradiation thermal treatment on e-beam cured samples provides…

Mode I fracture toughness behavior of hydro-thermally aged carbon fibre reinforced DGEBA-HHPA-PES systems

2012

In this work the Mode I fracture toughness behavior of unidirectional CFRP laminates is investigated by means of Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) tests. The composite samples were manufactured by thermal curing after impregnation of a Carbon fabric with a DGEBA epoxy and anhydride HHPA curing agent. One resin batch was also mixed with a PES thermoplastic monomer to enhance the matrix toughness. Two lots of samples, toughened and un-toughened, were then left to soak in hot water to achieve various degrees of aging. The influence of matrix toughening and hydrothermal aging on the delamination behavior of the composite have then been assessed and correlated with characterization data from Dynamic …

Effects of Nylon 6,6 Nanofibrous Mats on Thermal Properties and Delamination Behavior of High Performance CFRP Laminates

2014

none 8 no Nylon 6,6 electrospun nanofibrous membranes interleaved in Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) laminates have been proposed as a means to provide a higher threshold value to delamination on structural sites where composites are more prone to develop such failure. A model, highly crosslinked thus inherently brittle, epoxy matrix was selected for its high Young’s modulus and glass transition temperature exceeding 250 °C. The influence of the Nylon 6,6 nanofibres on the curing behaviour of the matrix and on the thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of the cured resin was investigated. These properties were related to the features of the epoxy resin and of the resin impregnated…

Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of thin-ply laminates with CNT webs at the crack interface

2019

Abstract Pristine and functionalized carbon nanotube (CNT) webs were introduced at the interlaminar region of two different thin-ply carbon fibre reinforced polymer systems (NTPT 402 prepreg, and TeXtreme/SE84LV). The Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness (ILFT) for the NTPT 402 material was substantially lower. In contrast when SE84LV resin was used, the resistance curves were virtually unchanged and with no depreciation in the steady state value of the ILFT. This demonstrates that a careful choice of the resin is essential to permit the embedding of CNT webs in thin-ply laminates without compromising structural performance and opens a new way towards the development of multifunctional th…

Experimental evaluation of through-the-thickness stress distribution in transverse crack tension test samples

2015

Transverse Crack Tension (TCT) samples represent an alternative to End Notched Flexure configurations for the characterization of pure mode II fracture toughness of Fibre Reinforced Polymer composites. TCT is supposed to reproduce a pure Mode II failure mechanism while avoiding the frictional energy dissipation between the flanks of a starter crack. The TCT geometry is that of a unidirectional tensile sample where a number of embedded plies, centered on the middle plane, are cut in the transverse fibres direction. The tensile loading should then activate four symmetric fronts of mode II delamination from the transverse cut tips. The present work describes the implementation of two full fiel…