Tensile performance and crack propagation of coated woven fabrics under multiaxial loads

The tensile performance of coated woven fabrics under multiaxial loads is examined in the present study. Two groups of experiments were conducted to investigate the influences of the configuration of the fabric specimen and the loading speed on the multiaxial tensile properties of the fabrics. The configuration of the specimen for the multiaxial tensile tests is identified as gear‐shape with large arm widths. A loading speed of lower than 20 mm/min is suggested to obtain the tensile properties of the coated woven fabrics under multiaxial loads. The tensile performances of coated woven fabrics under uni‐, bi‐, and multiaxial loads were compared. We found that the tensile performances under bi‐ and multiaxial loads are much better than those under uniaxial loads. Therefore, for the application of the coated woven fabrics in lightweight structures, biaxial or multiaxial loading conditions will be necessary. Experiments on the specimens with an initial crack in the center under multiaxial loads show that, by comparison with other loading directions, the tensile properties in warp direction of the coated woven fabrics play an important role in the failure performance and crack propagation under multiaxial loads. To eliminate the dependence on the mechanical properties in warp direction, the balance of the two principle directions of coated woven fabrics should be improved. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Effect of matrix ductility and interface treatment on mechanical properties of glass fiber mat composites

The influence of matrix properties on randomly oriented glass fiber epoxy composites has been studied. It is shown that an increased ductility (flexibility) of the matrix does not result in greater elongation to failure of the composite under tensile and flexural loads. The tensile (and flexural) strength and the modulus of elasticity are decreased as the ductility of the resin is increased. It is concluded that since the matrix material is subjected to a triaxial state of stress when the composite specimen is subjected to uniaxial loads, the effect of matrix modulus, Poisson's ratio, and yield strength are more important than the matrix ductility measured under uniaxial stress. The effect on mechanical properties of various surface treatments applied to the fibers is also investigated. Finally, scanning electron micrographs are presented showing matrix cracks, fiber debonding, and fiber pull-out.     

Analysis of multiaxial impact behavior of polymers

Impact performance is a primary concern in many applications of polymers. In this paper, finite element analysis (FEA) and ABAQUS/Explicit are used to simulate the deformation and failure of polymers in the standard ASTM D3763 multiaxial impact test. The specimen geometry and loading mode in this multiaxial impact test provides a close correlation with practical impact conditions. A previously developed constitutive model (“DSGZ” model) for polymers under monotonic compressive loading is generalized and extended for any loading mode and takes into account the different behavior of polymers in uniaxial tensile and compression tests. The phenomenon of thermomechanical coupling during plastic deformation is also included in the analysis. This generalized DSGZ model, along with thermomechanical coupling and a failure criterion based on maximum plastic strain, is incorporated in the FEA model as a coupled‐field user material subroutine to produce a unique tool for the prediction of the impact behavior of polymeric materials. Load‐displacement curves from FEA simulations are compared with experimental data for two glassy polymers, ABS‐1 and ABS‐2. The simulations and experimental data are in excellent agreement up to the maximum impact load. It is shown that not accounting for the different behavior of the polymer in uniaxial tensile and compression tests and thermomechanical coupling effects leads to an overestimation of the load and impact energy, especially at large displacements and plastic deformations. Friction also plays an important role in the impact behavior. If one neglects the friction between the striker and polymer disk, the predicted impact loads are lower as compared with experimental data at large displacements.     

Tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation in CeO2-stabilized zirconia under multiaxial loading

Critical stresses for the initiation of the tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transformation in 9Ce-TZP zirconia materials with five different grain sizes have been studied. The influence of the grain size on the critical transformation stresses has been investigated in multiaxial stress states, namely, in four-point bending, biaxial bending and torsion. It was found that phase transformation occurs as a homogeneous phase transformation with a transformation strain increasing continuously with increasing applied stress and also as an autocatalytic phase transformation with the autocatalytic formation of transformation bands normal to the maximum principal stress. An investigation of the critical transformation stresses under different multiaxial loads in the tensile regime, i.e. with positive hydrostatic stress, showed that both the homogeneous and the autocatalytic transformation do not follow the shear-dilatant criterion investigated in multiaxial compressive testing. The experiments showed that under multiaxial loading the onset of both transformation types can be predicted with the maximum principal stress transformation criterion, with the difference between the critical stresses of both transformation mechanisms strongly decreasing with grain size.     

Micromechanical Stress Concentrations in Two-Phase Brittle-Matrix Ceramic Composites

A quantitative investigation was conducted on the effect of micromechanical stress concentrations on the strength of two-phase brittle-matrix ceramic systems. The materials consisted of a continuous brittle matrix containing dispersions with elastic properties different from those of the matrix. A soda borosilicate glass was used as the matrix and the dispersions consisted of spherical alumina particles 60μ in diameter and spherical pores 60μ in diameter. Stress concentrations were varied by measuring the strength of the composite under uniaxial and biaxial tensile stress conditions. The experimental results showed that micromechanical stress concentrations strongly affect the macroscopic strength of the composite. Under biaxial tensile stress, additions of either alumina microspheres or spherical porosity to the glass matrix resulted in a decrease in strength equal to the maximum calculated stress concentration factor. Under uniaxial tensile stress conditions, however, the reduction in strength for the glass-alumina system was negligible. The glass-porosity system gave a reduction in uniaxial strength which was not equal to the maximum calculated stress concentration factor. Experimental results suggest that differences in strength of brittle multi-component systems under uniaxial and biaxial stress states can be attributed in part to micro-structural features. On the basis of the experimental work, a hypothesis is developed relating the relative size of the region in the glass matrix over which stress concentrations act to the size of the Griffith flaws responsible for failure. This hypothesis is extended to the effect of porosity on the strength of polycrystalline brittle ceramic materials.     

Experimental characterization and computational simulations of the low‐velocity impact behaviour of polypropylene

The objective of this work is to validate predictive models for the simulation of the mechanical response of polypropylene undergoing impact situations. The transferability of material parameters deduced from a particular loading scenario (uniaxial loading) to a different loading situation (multiaxial loading) was studied. The material was modelled with a modified viscoplastic phenomenological model based on the G'Sell–Jonas equation. To perform the numerical simulations, a user‐material subroutine (VUMAT) was implemented in the ABAQUS/explicit finite element code. Constitutive parameters for the model were determined from isostrain rate uniaxial tensile impact test data using an inverse calibration technique. In addition, falling‐weight low‐energy impact tests were performed on disc‐shaped specimens at velocities in the range 0.7 to 3.13 m s^?1. The model predictions were evaluated by comparison of the experimental and finite element response of the falling‐weight impact tests. The G'Sell–Jonas model showed much better predictability than classical elastoplasticity models. It also showed excellent agreement with experimental curves, provided stress‐whitening damage observed experimentally was accounted for in the model using an element failure criterion. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Experimental and numerical analysis on fatigue durability of single-lap joints under vibration loads

Fatigue is one of the most common yet complicated failures that can cause damage to mechanical structures. Structural adhesively bonded joints are not exempt from this deleterious phenomenon and have to be assessed under vibration loads. In this work, fatigue characteristics of single-lap joints (SLJ) made of steel and carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates under vibration loads are primarily investigated by experiments. The aim of this work is to analyze the changes in the ultimate load of the SLJ under vibration loads. The experimental results showed that SLJ will face cohesive failure after the uniaxial tensile loading test. In addition to the increase of vibration cycles, the ultimate load and failure displacement gradually decrease. In order to model the adhesive between joint components and simulate the damage propagation, a new traction–separation law called the embedded process zone (EPZ) and a damage factor are introduced and developed within the framework of cohesive zone Modeling (CZM) techniques. Meanwhile, the stress variations in the adhesive layer of SLJ in different vibration cycles are researched using the finite element method in ABAQUS.     

Tensile behavior of PVC‐coated woven membrane materials under uni‐ and bi‐axial loads

Tensile characteristics are the most significant mechanical properties for coated woven fabrics as membrane materials used in lightweight constructions. Factors that might affect test results of the material under uni‐ and bi‐axial tensile loads are examined. After series of tensile tests on PVC‐coated membrane materials, it is demonstrated that (1) to measure the strains in the two perpendicular directions, the contact method by the needle extensometer does not interfere the correct data recording; (2) the positions where the strains are measured on specimens have a great influence on the test results of the stiffness and Poisson's ratio in warp direction under uni‐axial load; (3) to perform bi‐axial tensile tests the size of the cruciform specimen in bi‐axial tensile test can be much smaller than those suggested in the literature. The tensile behavior of coated membrane materials under bi‐axial loads are affected dramatically by the stress ratio in the warp and fill directions. Besides the residual strains of coated membrane materials are affected not only by the properties of the constituent yarns and woven structure but also by loading conditions during the coating process. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Fracture behavior of silicon nitride ceramics under combined compression-torsion stresses analyzed by multiaxial fracture statistics

Combined compression-torsion tests were performed on the thermal-treated and as-machined silicon nitride ceramics to investigate their fracture behavior under multiaxial stress states. The thermal-treated samples showed considerable high strength and low anisotropy to the grinding direction in flexure tests compared to the as-machined samples. Under combined compression and torsion stress states, the thermal-treated samples showed considerably higher tensile strength than that of as-machined samples at low compressive stress states and weakening with increasing compression stress. The as-machined samples showed little decrease in tensile strength with increasing compression stress and comparable tensile strength with the thermal-treated samples under a highly compressive stress state. The behavior of thermal-treated samples were well described by the statistical theory of multiaxial fracture for volume-distributed flaws combined with a mixed-mode fracture criterion with the shear sensitivity constant of 1.75 and 1.65 for Shetty’s criterion and the ellipsoidal criterion, respectively.     

Influence of Uniaxial Tensile Stress on the Mechanical and Piezoelectric Properties of Short-period Ferroelectric Superlattice

Tetragonal ferroelectric/ferroelectric BaTiO₃/PbTiO₃\hbox{BaTiO}_3/\hbox{PbTiO}_3 superlattice under uniaxial tensile stress along the c axis is investigated from first principles. We show that the calculated ideal tensile strength is 6.85 GPa and that the superlattice under the loading of uniaxial tensile stress becomes soft along the nonpolar axes. We also find that the appropriately applied uniaxial tensile stress can significantly enhance the piezoelectricity for the superlattice, with piezoelectric coefficient d ₃₃ increasing from the ground state value by a factor of about 8, reaching 678.42 pC/N. The underlying mechanism for the enhancement of piezoelectricity is discussed.     

Multidimensional characterization of piezoresistive carbon black silicone rubber composites

Flexible and stretchable electronic skins capable of replicating the human sense of touch are a subject of active research. One of the most popular materials for force sensors in skins is carbon black (CB)/polydimethylsiloxane composite. To aid in skin design, a characterization of this composite is presented here. The sensitivity of composite resistance to uniaxial tension, compression, and shear for each CB concentration is measured and found to be similar for tension and compression, but smaller for shear, with resistance monotonically increasing with strain. In addition, under tension and compression the resistance of the material is measured both in line with and perpendicular to the axis of applied strain, and the response is found to be approximately equal in both cases. The electrical and mechanical relaxation time of the material is also measured and modeled for tension, compression, and shear. The mechanical relaxation time is found to be shorter than the electrical, with both increasing with CB concentration. However, the shortest mechanical relaxation time, 200 s, precludes a sensor with human‐like response times without an active modeling and compensation system. Finally, Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio are measured and reported for each CB concentration. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44773.     

Creep characterization and modelling of ordinary refractory ceramics under combined compression and shear loading conditions

Creep behaviour of ordinary refractory ceramics is evidently asymmetric under uniaxial tension and compression. In service, they are often exposed to multiaxial stress states. In the present paper, the modified shear test specimens were applied for a creep study in the shear-compression zone of the p-q diagram, and the pure shear creep parameters following the Norton-Bailey strain hardening equation were inversely identified in combination with a weighting function between pure shear and uniaxial compressive conditions. The weighting function was implemented in an in-house asymmetric creep constitutive model. The experimental curves can be well predicted with identified parameters of the asymmetric creep constitutive model. It shows that the shear creep of ordinary refractory ceramics is evidently different to uniaxial compressive/tensile creep. Consideration of shear creep in the thermomechanical modelling of industrial vessels increases the accuracy of simulation results and supports the lining concept optimization investigation.     

Modified Tsai-Wu failure criterion for fiber-reinforced composite laminates

The Tsai-Wu Quadratic Failure Criterion provides satisfactory strength predictions for fiber-reinforced composite materials but requires five experimental tests to determine the strength parameters. This paper presents two modifications of this criterion, which employ micromechanics to determine these parameters. Experiments on uniaxial and multiaxial vinyl ester/fiberglass composite laminates show that the first modified failure criterion, which is based solely on fiber and resin properties, predicts strength within an average absolute error of 25.4% in comparison to the experimentally determined strength. The addition of a single longitudinal tensile test to the modified expression (second modified failure criterion) reduces the average absolute error to 15.9%. This compares well with the Tsai-Wu Failure Criterion, which gives an average absolute error of 9.4%. The proposed modified criteria are shown to provide satisfactory failure predictions, while greatly reducing the amount of testing required.     

Fundamental influences on quasistatic and cyclic material behavior of short glass fiber reinforced polyamide illustrated on microscopic scale

In this work, the influences of fiber orientation and weld lines on the morphological structures and the mechanical behavior of polyamide 6.6 (PA6.6‐GF35) are investigated. In quasistatic and fatigue tests tensile and 3‐point‐bending loads are applied. Test temperatures vary between RT and 150°C. Two different specimen types are produced by using injection moulding process to create different fiber orientations as well as weld lines. Fiber orientations are determined using computer tomography. Scanning electron microscopy is used to investigate fracture surfaces of tested specimens. Results show that mechanical properties and morphological structures depend highly on fiber orientation and temperature. Transversely oriented fibers in weld lines result in brittle failure mechanisms and decreased mechanical properties. Different stress distributions in the specimens under tensile and flexural loads have influence on the material behavior as well. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40842.     

Triaxial strength and failure criterion of plain high-strength and high-performance concrete before and after high temperatures

Triaxial tests were performed on 100 mm × 100 mm × 100 mm cubic specimens of plain high-strength and high-performace concrete (HSHPC) at all kinds of stress ratios after exposure to normal and high temperatures of 20, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 °C, using a large static-dynamic true triaxial machine. Friction-reducing pads, using three layers of plastic membrane with glycerine were placed between the compressive loading plate and the specimens; the tensile loading planes of concrete samples were processed by an attrition machine, and then the samples were glued-up with the loading plate with structural glue. The failure mode characteristic of the specimens and the direction of the crack were observed and described. The three principally static strengths in the corresponding stress state were measured. The influence of the temperatures and stress ratios on the triaxial strengths of HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures was also analyzed. The experimental results showed that the uniaxial compressive strength of plain HSHPC after exposure to high temperatures does not decrease completely with the increase in temperature, the ratios of the triaxial to its uniaxial compressive strength are dependent on the brittleness-stiffness of HSHPC after different temperatures and the stress ratios. On this basis, a new failure criterion with the temperature parameters is proposed for plain HSHPC under multiaxial stress states. It provides the experimental and theoretical foundations for strength analysis of HSHPC structures subject to complex loads after subjected to a high temperature environment.     

Large deformation behavior of some thermoplastics

In this experimental study the deformation behavior of two thermoplastics under uniaxial and biaxial loadings has been investigated. The experiments were conducted on thin walled tubular specimens of nylon-6, a semicrystalline polymer, and polymethyimethacrylate (PMMA),:an amorphous polymer. These specimens were subjected to tension, torsion and combined tension-torsion loadings until very large deformations were produced or specimen failure took place. The results are presented in the form of generalized stress-generalized strain curves which are applicable to all types of loadings, provided the generalized stress is monotonically increasing. In addition, the results show that the generalized stress-generalized strain relationship for nylon-6 is parabolic in nature, whereas that for PMM A can be represented by a bilinear curve. This characterization of the response of the thermoplastics under a biaxial stress field can be used to obtain a more realistic stress interaction between fiber and matrix in composite materials, since until now all theoretical studies on this aspect have assumed an elastic or elastic-perfectly plastic behavior of the matrix.     

Low density polyethylene-polypropylene blends: Part 1 - Ductility and tensile properties

Abstract

The composition-property relationships of LDPE-PP binary blends have been investigated. Young's modulus, yield strength and flexural strength of the blends varied monotonically with composition, whereas the elongation at failure and the true ultimate tensile strength for the blends with 30-50 wt-% PP exhibited synergetic effects. These blends showed strong cold draw hardening, and their elongations at failure and the true ultimate tensile strengths were much higher than those of the neat components. Meanwhile, impact strength showed an abrupt reduction with increasing PP content and the failure mode changed from ductile to brittle in the composition range of 30-50 wt-% PP. Failure mechanisms are discussed, addressing interfacial adhesion between LDPE and PP and the non-uniform shrinkage of the component domains upon cooling.     

Mechanical behavior of ferroelastic porous La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ prepared with different pore formers

The present work investigated the mechanical behavior of porous La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2 Fe_0.8O_3−δ LSCF under uniaxial compression. The porous (LSCF) samples with the same grain size but different porous structures with 1.5–41% of porosity were prepared using three different pore formers. All the samples had ferroelastic domains and exhibited ferroelastic mechanical behaviors under uniaxial compression. Initial and loading moduli as well as critical stress monotonically decreased and remnant strain increased with increasing the porosity. The initial modulus can be determined by the actual porosity regardless of porous structure or grain size, whereas the other properties were more sensitive to experimental condition such as loading rate and maximum applied stress. Compressive fracture strength could be significantly influenced by porous structure.     

Multiaxial Reinforcement of Cross‐Linked Isotactic Poly(propylene) upon Uniaxial Stretching

Isotactic poly(propylene) (iPP) is one of a few polymers that show homoepitaxy, i.e., the formed crystals act as nuclei for so‐called daughter crystals that are formed nearly perpendicular to the backbones of the primary crystallized mother crystals. Lightly cross‐linked isotactic poly(propylene) (x‐iPP) offers the opportunity to form nearly all mother crystals in stretching direction and simultaneously allow formation of daughter crystals. Since crystals in polymers act as reinforcement along chain direction, this unique behavior allows multiaxial reinforcement in iPP induced only by stretching in one direction. In this study the influence of applied uniaxial strain is explored on the resulting multiaxial crystal orientations and Young's moduli parallel, perpendicular as well as under an angle of 45° to the stretching direction of the sample. It is shown that the occurring multiaxial orientations strongly depend on applied strain during crystallization and cause significantly improved Young's moduli parallel as well as perpendicular to the prior stretching direction while that under an angle of 45° is slightly decreasing. The here described technique to obtain multiaxially oriented morphologies is not restricted to thin films but can be efficiently applied also to bulk samples.

     

Mechanical and fracture behavior of an artificially ultraviolet‐irradiated poly(ethylene‐carbon monoxide) copolymer

In this work, 1 wt % carbon monoxide (CO) poly(ethylene‐carbon monoxide) (ECO) copolymer sheets were artificially exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light with a power density of 3 mW/cm² for up to 130 h. A thorough mechanical characterization of the irradiated material was conducted, in which both the stress–strain data and the values of the quasistatic crack initiation and growth toughness were measured and correlated with companion uniaxial tensile tests and single‐edge‐notched fracture tests. Average values of the elastic modulus, failure strain, and failure stress were determined from the tensile tests. The full‐field optical technique of digital image correlation was used to quantify in‐plane deformation (displacements and displacement gradients) during the fracture experiments and to extract values of the crack initiation and growth fracture toughness. The elastic modulus increased monotonically with UV irradiation for the exposure times used in this investigation. In addition, for low irradiation times of less than 5 h, both the failure strain and failure stress of ECO decreased, and this caused a corresponding decrease in the crack initiation and growth toughness. However, for longer irradiation times, the failure strain remained almost invariable, whereas the failure stress increased by about 25% over that of unirradiated ECO. As a result, for longer irradiation times (>5 h), 1 wt % CO ECO became not only stiffer but also stronger and tougher, as quantified by companion fracture experiments. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 139–148, 2004