An assessment of buffer strips for reduction of stress concentration at cutouts in composite laminates

A shear lag solution for a hybrid unidirectional buffer strip laminate containing a rectangular cutout is presented. Fiber stresses and displacements in the main panel and buffer strips are given as explicit functions of fiber and matrix properties, and laminate and cutout configurations. Stress concentration factors and laminate ultimate strengths for both soft and stiff buffer strips are presented. A substantial improvement in the notched strength is shown to be possible by using low modulus and high strength fibers for buffer strips. The stress concentration factors for a rectangular cutout are compared with those of a rectilinear crack in a buffer strip laminate.     

Shear-lag analysis of notched laminates with interlaminar debonding

This study considers a method of analysis for predicting the fracture behavior of a notched, unidirectional lamina in the presence of surface constraint layers with debonding between the unidirectional ply and the constraint layers. Two particular cases are presented, the first being a debonded zone of finite width with no longitudinal damage in the unidirectional ply. This solution is then extended to include longitudinal matrix yielding and splitting in the unidirectional ply at the crack tip. The analysis is based on a materials modeling approach using the classical shear-lag assumption to describe the shear transfer between fibers. The fracture behavior of the laminate is studied as a function of initial crack length, the relative physical and geometric properties of the constraint plies and the unidirectional lamina, and width of the debonded zone. The results indicate that debonding can reduce the maximum fiber stress at the crack tip on the order of ten percent. This effect is maximum for a debond width of two or three fiber spacings and is independent of the initial crack length. As the debond width grows beyond this point, the maximum stress increases. For widths of about ten fiber spacings or more, the maximum fiber stress is larger than for the fully bonded case. In the presence of longitudinal matrix damage the same general behavior is found; however, the location of the maximum fiber stress is quite complex. In some cases with large matrix damage and a high constraint ratio, the maximum fiber stress can occur at the end of the debonded zone away from the crack tip.     

Tensile fracture process of Strain Hardening Cementitious Composites by means of three-dimensional meso-scale analysis

There are a wide variety of short fiber reinforced cement composites. Among these materials are Strain Hardening Cementitious Composites (SHCC) that exhibit strain hardening and multiple cracking in tension. Quantitative material design methods considering the properties of matrix, fiber and their interface should be established. In addition, numerical models to simulate the fracture process including crack width and crack distribution for the material are needed.This paper introduces a numerical model for three-dimensional analysis of SHCC fracture, in which the salient features of the material meso-scale (i.e. matrix, fibers and their interface) are discretized. The fibers are randomly arranged within the specimen models. Load test simulations are conducted and compared with experimental results. It is seen that the proposed model can well simulate the tensile failure of Ultra High Performance-Strain Hardening Cementitious Composites (UHP-SHCC) including strain-hardening behavior and crack patterns. The effects of matrix strength, its probability distribution inside the specimen and fiber distribution on the tensile fracture are numerically investigated. Consideration of the probability distributions of material properties, such as matrix strength, appears to be essential for predicting the fracture process of SHCC.     

Delamination of thin film strips

Delamination of residually stressed thin film strips is analyzed to expose the dependence on strip width and film/substrate elastic mismatch. Isotropic films and substrates are assumed. The residual stress in the film is tensile and assumed to originate from mismatch due to thermal expansion or epitaxial deposition. Full and partial delamination modes are explored. In full delamination, the interface crack extends across the entire width of the strip and releases all the elastic energy stored in the strip as the crack propagates along the interface. The energy release rate available to propagate the interface crack is a strong function of the strip width and the elastic modulus of the film relative to that of the substrate. The energy release rate associated with full delamination is determined as a function of the interface crack length from initiation to steady-state, revealing a progression of behavior depending in an essential way on the three dimensionality of the strip. The dependence of the energy release rate on the remaining ligament as the interface crack converges with the strip end has also been calculated, and the results provide an effective means for inferring interface toughness from crack arrest position. A partial delamination propagates along the strip leaving a narrow width of strip attached to the substrate. In this case, the entire elastic energy stored in the strip is not released because the strain component parallel to the strip is not relaxed. A special application is also considered, in which a residually stressed metal superlayer is deposited onto a polymer strip. The energy release rate for an interface crack propagating along the interface between the polymer and the substrate is determined in closed form.     

Prediction of Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of stitched flax fiber composites

This paper aims to propose a simulation procedure to predict the interlaminar fracture toughness of stitched flax fiber composites through a virtual double cantilever beam test. The proposed procedure is constituted of two steps. First, the interlaminar failure of unstitched flax fiber laminate, as the parent laminate, is modeled using cohesive elements with a nonlinear softening law in order to model the large-scale fiber bridging occurred during delamination. The experimental results are used to calibrate the parameters of the cohesive law. Second, two-node beam elements are superposed onto the cohesive interface of the parent laminate at a prescribed stitch density and distribution to model the bridging stitches present in the validation samples. The stitch material behavior and properties are obtained from the tensile test of impregnated stitch fibers. The out-of-plane flax yarn stitching was found to generate a twofold increase in the delamination resistance of the composite laminate at a medium stitch density. The FE analysis results agreed well with the experimental results, where a good fit between the predicted and experimental R-curves was achieved.     

Studies on the characterization of piassava fibers and their epoxy composites

This paper presents morphology, physical and strength properties of piassava fiber, a very rigid fiber having a potential to be used as composite reinforcement. Composites of continuous and aligned piassava fibers with and without alkali treatment dispersed in epoxy matrix were subjected to three point bend, tensile, and Izod impact tests. Composites with fibers above 20 vol.% showed an effective reinforcement behavior both in flexural and tensile tests, while the impact energy linearly increased for the amount of piassava fibers used in this study. Fractographic study revealed a relatively weaker fiber/matrix adhesion acting as preferential site for crack nucleation. Evidence was also found for crack arrest by the fiber above 20 vol.%. This, together with spiny surface protrusion in the piassava fibers, was found to be responsible for the reinforcement of the epoxy composites.     

Edge crack in a strip of an elastic solid

The problem of determining the distribution of stress and the deformation of a long strip of an elastic material, damaged by a crack normal to an edge of the strip, is investigated. The strip is deformed by pressure applied to the faces of the crack. The stress intensity factor is calculated and its variation with the depth of the crack, relative to the width of the strip, in the special case of uniform pressure, is illustrated.     

Analysis of a buffer strip laminate with fiber and matrix damage and interlaminar debonding

A shear lag solution for a hybrid buffer strip laminate containing initial damage in the form of a rectilinear notch, matrix splitting and interlaminar debonding is presented. The model is a unidirectional monolayer with two symmetric constraint layers that represent angle plies. The intent of the analysis is to estimate the remote strain required to propagate the initial damage and/or to fail the laminate catastrophically. The analytical solution has a set of integral equations in which material and geometric parameters appear explicitly. Some typical results are presented for a graphite/epoxy panel having either high strength and low modulus or low strength and low modulus buffer strips. Matrix damage, angle plies, and interlaminar debonding are shown to affect the damage tolerance capability of buffer strip laminates.     

Augmented fatigue performance and constant life diagrams of hierarchical carbon fiber/nanofiber epoxy composites

We report the results of an extensive multi-stress ratio experimental study on the axial fatigue behavior of an all-carbon hierarchical composite laminate, in which carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are utilized alongside traditional micron-sized carbon fibers. Primary carbon fibers were arranged in matrix-dominated biax ±45° lay-ups in order to establish matrix and matrix/fiber interaction based performance. CNFs were matrix dispersed by three-roll calender milling. Results indicate that the CNF-reinforced composites collectively possess improved fatigue and static properties over their unmodified counterparts. Large mean lifetime improvements of 150–670% were observed in fully compressive, tensile and tensile dominated loadings. Enhancements are attributed to the high interface density and damage shielding effect of the CNFs within the matrix. Further improvements are believed to occur when the nanofibers arrest and redistribute small scale, slowly propagating matrix cracks at low applied stresses. These results highlight the ability of a nanometer-sized reinforcing phase to actively participate and enhance matrix properties while moving toward a cost effective alternative to current material solutions.     

抗剪加固FRP与混凝土界面粘结性能的试验研究

为了深入理解抗剪加固FRP与混凝土界面的粘结性能,该文对侧面粘贴FRP的21根预置裂缝小梁进行了试验研究。试验设计考虑了FRP粘结长度、宽度、厚度及FRP纤维方向与裂缝张开方向的角度(简称“FRP纤维受拉角度”,用θ表示)对FRP与混凝土界面粘结性能的影响。试验结果表明:1) 所用的预置裂缝小梁可以有效对FRP与混凝土的界面粘结性能进行试验研究;2) FRP粘结长度、宽度、厚度及纤维受拉角度等因素对粘结强度有明显影响;3) FRP应变沿宽度方向的分布是不均匀的,这主要是由于裂缝不均匀开展导致FRP在裂缝开展快的一边先剥离。     

Investigation into the Fiber Orientation Effect on the Formability of GLARE Materials in the Stamp Forming Process

Glass-reinforced aluminum laminate (GLARE) is a new class of fiber metal laminates (FMLs) which has the advantages such as high tensile strength, outstanding fatigue, impact resistance, and excellent corrosion properties. GLARE has been extensively applied in advanced aerospace and automobile industries. However, the deformation behavior of the glass fiber during forming must be studied to the benefits of the good-quality part we form. In this research, we focus on the effect of fiber layer orientation on the GLARE laminate formability in stamp forming process. Experimental and numerical analysis of stamping a hemisphere part in different fiber orientation is investigated. The results indicate that unidirectional and multi-directional fiber in the middle layer make a significant effect on the thinning and also surface forming quality of the three layer sheet. Furthermore, the stress-strain distribution of the aluminum alloy and the unique anisotropic property of the fiber layer exhibit that fiber layer orientation can also affect the forming depths as well as the fracture modes of the laminate. According to the obtained results, it is revealed that multi-directional fiber layers are a good alternative compared to the unidirectional fibers especially when a better formability is the purpose.     

Measurement of small angle fiber misalignments in continuous fiber composites

In aligned, continuous fiber composites the fibers actually wander with small angular misalignments about the mean direction. These misalignments are suspected of having a significant influence on several mechanical properties, such as longitudinal compression strength and tensile modulus. A technique is presented for measuring the volume fraction distribution of fiber misalignment angle in the range of ±10°, with an estimated resolution of ±0·25°. The method can provide a full bivariate distribution, which includes both in-plane and out-of-plane misalignments. Data from a carbon fiber composite, APC-2, are given as an illustration. Misalignment distributions for prepreg, a 0/90 laminate, and a unidirectional laminate are given. It is found that the distribution in the prepreg is axially symmetric, but changes upon laminations, the changes depending on stacking sequence. In this particular material most of the fibers are found to lie within ±3° of the mean fiber direction. Distribution standard deviations range from 0·693 to 1·936 degrees.     

Mechanical behavior of hybrid steel-fiber self-consolidating concrete: Materials and structural aspects

This work presents the preliminary results of an experimental investigation on the mechanical behavior of self-consolidating concrete reinforced with hybrid steel fibers in the material and structural scale. Straight and hooked end steel fibers with different lengths and diameters were used as reinforcement in fiber volume fractions of 1.0 and 1.5%. In the fresh state the concrete was characterized using the slump flow, L-box and V-funnel tests. To determine the effect of the hybrid reinforcement on the plastic viscosity and shear yield stress a parallel plate rheometer was used. Following, the mechanical response was measured under tension and bending tests. In the flexural test, the movement of the neutral axis was experimentally determined by strain-gages attached to compression and tensile surfaces. Furthermore, the mechanical response of the material under bi-axial bending was addressed using the round panel test. During the test the crack opening was measured using three linear variable differential transformers (LVDT’s). The cracking mechanisms were discussed and compared to that obtained under four point bending and direct tension. The obtained results indicated that the fiber hybridization improved the behavior of the composites for low strain and displacement levels increasing the serviceability limit state of the same through the control of the crack width. For large displacement levels the use of the longer fibers led to a higher toughness but with an expressive crack opening. Due to its structural redundancy the round panel test allowed the formation of a multiple cracking pattern which was not observed in the four point beam tests. Finally, the obtained material’s properties were used in a nonlinear finite element model to simulate the round panel test. The simulation reasonably agreed with the experimental test data.     

纤维增强PE材料增韧效果的研究

以聚乙烯(PE)材料为基体,应用玻璃纤维随机或定向分布,增加材料的强度、刚度和断裂韧性,是发展高压大口径复合材料天然气管道的需要。本文基于PFRAC程序的动态断裂分析能力[1],增加了各向异性材料的本构条件,发展了对纤维增强复合材料未开裂和开裂管道的计算功能。由力学性能的试验结果,提供了材料的本构关系,对未开裂和开裂的管道进行了计算分析。结果表明,PE管道经纤维增强之后,与纯PE材料的管道相比,其环向位移下降到53%(纤维随机分布)~5%(纤维沿管道轴向80度分布);裂纹驱动力相应下降到50%~17%,充分反映了纤维对PE材料的增强和增韧效果。     

Influence of concrete strength on crack development in SFRC members

Tension stiffening is still a matter of discussion into the scientific community; the study of this phenomenon is even more relevant in structural members where the total reinforcement consists of a proper combination of traditional rebars and steel fibers. In fact, fiber reinforced concrete is now a worldwide-used material characterized by an enhanced behavior at ultimate limit states as well as at serviceability limit states, thanks to its ability in providing a better crack control.This paper aims at investigating tension stiffening by discussing pure-tension tests on reinforced concrete prisms having different sizes, reinforcement ratios, amount of steel fibers and concrete strength. The latter two parameters are deeply studied in order to determine the influence of fibers on crack patterns as well as the significant effect of the concrete strength; both parameters determine narrower cracks characterized by a smaller crack width.     

Fatigue and residual strength of composite laminates

The mechanics of fatigue failure of laminated composite materials are completely different from that of conventional materials. The mechanics of fatigue failure of conventional materials involve the initiation and propagation of a single crack, which causes the material to fail. Laminated composite material can arrest the propagating crack to within a single lamina, thus avoiding immediate failure. Only after accumulation of cracks the laminate fails. The fatigue life of the laminate is best described by S-N curves. A theory for residual strength is developed which is based on a cumulative damage theory. The theory predicts that the static strength of the laminate is maintained almost to the final failure by fatigue. Experimental results verify this phenomenon.     

Improved fiber distribution and mechanical properties of engineered cementitious composites by adjusting the mixing sequence

Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) is a class of ultra ductile fiber reinforced cementitious composites, characterized by high ductility and tight crack width control. The polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber with a diameter of 39 μm and a length of 6-12 mm is often used. Unlike plain concrete and normal fiber reinforced concrete, ECC shows a strain-hardening behavior under tensile load. Apart from the mix design, the fiber distribution is another crucial factor for the mechanical properties of ECC, especially the ductility. In order to obtain a good fiber distribution, the plastic viscosity of the ECC mortar before adding fibers needs to be controlled, for example, by adjusting water-to-powder ratio or chemical admixtures. However, such adjustments have some limitations and may result in poor mechanical properties of ECC. This research explores an innovative approach to improve the fiber distribution by adjusting the mixing sequence. With the standard mixing sequence, fibers are added after all solid and liquid materials are mixed. The undesirable plastic viscosity before the fiber addition may cause poor fiber distribution and results in poor hardened properties. With the adjusted mixing sequence, the mix of solid materials with the liquid material is divided into two steps and the addition of fibers is between the two steps. In this paper, the influence of different water mixing sequences is investigated by comparing the experimental results of the uniaxial tensile test and the fiber distribution analysis. Compared with the standard mixing sequence, the adjusted mixing sequence increases the tensile strain capacity and ultimate tensile strength of ECC and improves the fiber distribution. This concept is further applied in the development of ECC with high volume of sand.     

The collinear cracks in an inhomogeneous medium subjected to transient load

Summary A laminate model is employed to solve the elastodynamic problem of a collinear crack in an inhomogeneous material. The inhomogeneous material is treated as a series of thinner layer. The Laplace and Fourier transforms are used to reduce the problem to a set of singular integral equations that is solved numerically. Numerical results of two collinear cracks in a functionally graded material strip are obtained to show the influence of material inhomogeneity and crack position on crack tip field intensities.     

Investigation of the damage evolution of metal inserts embedded in carbon fiber reinforced plastic by means of computed tomography and acoustic emission

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics are promising materials for lightweight structures, for instance in automotive applications due to their outstanding specific mechanical properties. However, the load transfer in structural carbon fiber reinforced plastics parts via a detachable connection poses a challenge for the composite. Conventionally, the parts have to be drilled for this purpose whereby the fiber continuity is interrupted and hence the associated local stress accumulation decreases the load bearing capacity of the composite. This can be prevented by using embedded metal elements, so‐called inserts, for joining parts in structures. The damage behavior under tensile loading of inserts turned out to be extremely complex and is based on different mechanisms. In order to understand the damage evolution under tensile loading detailed knowledge about the deformation of the insert, crack growth in the laminate and debonding between metal insert and carbon fiber reinforced plastics is necessary. This paper aims for an investigation of the in situ failure behavior during tensile loading of composite sheets equipped with two different types of inserts by means of acoustic emission and computed tomography analysis. An inductive strain gauge was additionally installed underneath the laminate when performing the tensile tests monitored by acoustic emission analysis.