Mechanical behaviour of chemical vapour infiltration-processed two- and three-dimensional nicalon/SiC composites

The effect of two different fibre architectures on the mechanical properties of the Nicalon fibre-reinforced SiC composites processed by chemical vapour infiltration has been investigated. The microstructure, flexural strength, fracture toughness and failure mechanisms of both two-dimensional woven laminate and three-dimensional braided composites were characterized. It was found that the fibre placement in the preform will not only affect the infiltration of the SiC matrix, but also the mechanical property and failure behaviour of the composite. A strong, tough and damage-tolerant SiC matrix composite can be fabricated through the combination of a three-dimensional braided integrated fibre network and chemical vapour infiltration processing.     

Characterising the loading direction sensitivity of 3D woven composites: Effect of z-binder architecture

Three different architectures of 3D carbon fibre woven composites (orthogonal, ORT; layer-to-layer, LTL; angle interlock, AI) were tested in quasi-static uniaxial tension. Mechanical tests (tensile in on-axis of warp and weft directions as well as 45° off-axis) were carried out with the aim to study the loading direction sensitivity of these 3D woven composites. The z-binder architecture (the through-thickness reinforcement) has an effect on void content, directional fibre volume fraction, mechanical properties (on-axis and off-axis), failure mechanisms, energy absorption and fibre rotation angle in off-axis tested specimens. Out of all the examined architectures, 3D orthogonal woven composites (ORT) demonstrated a superior behaviour, especially when they were tested in 45° off-axis direction, indicated by high strain to failure (∼23%) and high translaminar energy absorption (∼40 MJ/m³). The z-binder yarns in ORT architecture suppress the localised damage and allow larger fibre rotation during the fibre “scissoring motion” that enables further strain to be sustained by the in-plane fabric layers during off-axis loading.     

Impact and post-impact properties of a carbon fibre non-crimp fabric and a twill weave composite

The impact and post-impact static and fatigue tensile properties of a carbon fibre/epoxy NCF composite were determined and compared to those of a carbon fibre/epoxy woven fabric composite, for two impact energies (3.5 and 7 J). The projected damage area after impact was larger for the NCF composite than that for the woven fabric composite for both impact energies. Impacted samples were subjected to static tensile tests and tensile–tensile fatigue tests. It was found that even a relatively low energy impact has already a significant negative influence on the residual properties in both static and fatigue tests, in the fibre direction as well as in the matrix dominated direction. In the matrix dominated directions the post-impact behaviour of the two materials is very similar. In the fibre direction, however, the properties of the non-crimp fabric composite are degraded more by an impact than those of the woven fabric composite.     

Characterising Mechanical Properties of Braided and Woven Textile Composite Beams

The focus of this paper is on the manufacture of textile composite beams and on the determination of their mechanical properties. This includes investigating the effects of fibre orientation on the mechanical properties of braided and woven textile composites. Composites were manufactured from nominally identical constituents and identical consolidation processes, leaving as the only variables, variations caused by the different fibre architecture of the preform. The repeatability and, hence, reliability of this approach is demonstrated. Results obtained show that fibre architecture affects composite strength and extensibility. Composites with woven preforms are practically linear up to catastrophic failure while composites with braided preforms exhibit non-linearity prior to failure. Also the mechanical properties of the textile composite beams were determined. Results show that by tailoring the braid angle and pick density of braided and woven composite performs, the mechanical properties of the composite beams can be controlled to suit end-use requirement.     

Untersuchungen des Schadensverhaltens dreidimensional verstärkter Faserverbundwerkstoffe im Rasterlektronenmikroskop

Investigation of the Fracture Behaviour of Three-Dimensionally Reinforced Composites by Electron Scan Micorscopy By the use of woven or braided textile performs it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs and to improve damage tolerance of composite materials due to a three-dimensional fibre reinforcement. An important requirement for the application of these new technology is a basic understanding of the fracture behaviour because the unique fibre architecture can cause totally different effect. In an experimental program composite specimen with 3D woven and braided fibre reinforcement have been tested in the special fixture of an electron microscope, allowing the detection and monitoring of smallest damages (fibre-fracture, matrix-fracture, interphase-fracture, delaminations notch-growth) and the investigation of damaging effects directly during static and dynamic tests. The loading condition of the notched and un-notched specimen was three-point bending. The Electron Scan Microscope in combination with the in-situ loading fixture has been prooven to be a very interesting tool to investigate micromechanical damaging effects. It shows that the 3D reinforcement, especially o the woven material, leads to a significant improvement o damage tolerance resulting for example in a drastical limitation of notch growth in static and dynamic tests.     

Characterisation of mechanical behaviour and damage analysis of 2D woven composites under bending

In this paper, flexural loading of woven carbon fabric-reinforced polymer laminates is studied using a combination of experimental material characterisation, microscopic damage analysis and numerical simulations. Mechanical behaviour of these materials was quantified by carrying out tensile and large-deflection bending tests. A substantial difference was found between the materials' tensile and flexural properties due to a size effect and stress stiffening of thin laminates. A digital image-correlation technique capable of full-field strain-measurement was used to determine in-plane shear properties of the studied materials. Optical microscopy and micro-computed tomography were employed to investigate deformation and damage mechanisms in the specimens fractured in bending. Various damage modes such as matrix cracking, delaminations, tow debonding and fibre fracture were observed in these microstructural studies. A two-dimensional finite-element (FE) model was developed to analyse the onset and propagation of inter-ply delamination and intra-ply fabric fracture as well as their coupling in the fractured specimen. The developed FE model provided a correct prediction of the material's flexural response and successfully simulated the sequence and interaction of damage modes observed experimentally.     

A study of fibre and interface parameters affecting the fatigue behaviour of natural fibre composites

The tension–tension fatigue behaviour of different natural fibre reinforced plastics was investigated. The composites used were made of flax and jute yarns and wovens as reinforcements for epoxy resins, polyester resins and polypropylene.Fibre type, textile architecture, interphase properties, fibre properties and content were found to affect the fatigue behaviour strongly as illustrated with damping versus applied maximum load curves. It was found that natural fibre reinforced plastics with higher fibre strength and modulus, stronger fibre–matrix adhesion or higher fibre fractions possess higher critical loads for damage initiation and higher failure loads. In addition, damage propagation rates were reduced.Furthermore, unidirectional composites were less sensitive to fatigue induced damage than woven reinforced ones.     

Pore size characteristics of nonwoven structures under uniaxial tensile loading

Nonwovens are highly porous structures consisting pores of complex shapes and sizes which are responsible for desired functional characteristics. In general, a nonwoven is often subjected to uniaxial tensile loading in various applications and it is of paramount importance to account for changes in structural characteristics including pore sizes during the loading conditions. In this research work, the pore size of thermally bonded nonwoven structures under uniaxial tensile loading at various levels of strains has been investigated. A theoretical model has been proposed that accounted for fibre reorientation and changes in the fibre volume fraction during the application of tensile strain. A comparison has been made between theoretical and experimental pore size distributions of thermally bonded nonwoven structures at defined levels of strains. Moreover, an attempt has been made to rationalise some of the contradictory literature results of pore size distributions of nonwoven structures under uniaxial tensile loading.     

Thermal shock behaviour of unidirectional, 0°/90°, and 2-D woven fibre-reinforced CVI SiC matrix composites

The thermal shock behaviour of NicalonTM fibre-reinforced chemical vapour infiltrated SiC matrix composites with three different types of fibre architecture, unidirectional, 0°/90°, and 2-D woven, has been studied using the water quench technique. Thermal shock induced damage was characterized by the destructive four-point flexure technique and the nondestructive technique of Young's modulus measurement by the dynamic resonance method. It was shown that the unidirectional and 0°/90° composites did not possess satisfactory mechanical properties or resistance to thermal shock because these fibre architectures prevented the composites from attaining high density during infiltration. Excess carbon coating was also found in the unidirectional and 0°/90° composites. Oxidation of this carbon coating contributed to the property degradation at high quench temperature difference. By contrast, the composite with 2-D woven fibre architecture created using the 0°/30°/60° cloth lay-up showed superior mechanical properties and thermal shock resistance. The nondestructive technique of Young's modulus measurement by the dynamic resonance method was successfully used in detecting the thermal shock damage.     

Simulating in-plane fatigue damage in woven glass fibre-reinforced composites subject to fully reversed cyclic loading

The interest in using fibre‐reinforced composites in structural components is increasing. Some of these structural composites, such as wind turbine blades, aircraft components and torsion shafts are subject to fatigue loadings. It is widely accepted that fully reversed cyclic loading is the most adverse loading for fibre‐reinforced composites, but the modelling of the material behaviour under this loading condition is very difficult. In this paper, a damage model is presented for woven glass fibre‐reinforced composites subject to fully reversed cyclic loading. First fatigue experiments have been conducted in displacement‐controlled fully reversed bending and the stiffness degradation and damage patterns have been observed. Based on these experimental data, a damage model has been developed, which includes the in‐plane stress components and the degradation of the in‐plane elastic properties. The model has been implemented in a commercial finite‐element code and simulation of the successive stages in the fatigue life has been performed. The model has been validated for a plain woven glass fabric reinforced composite and simulated stiffness degradation, damage growth and damage distribution have been compared with experimental data.     

Experimental Investigation of the Strain Rate Dependent Behaviour of 2D Biaxially and Triaxially Reinforced Braided Composites

The performance of 2D biaxially and triaxially reinforced braided carbon fibre composites under dynamic loading is evaluated in the presented study. The accurate manufacturing of tensile specimen made of braided sleeves is explained particularly with regard to efficiency and reproducibility. In order to determine reliable strain rate dependent properties, the high-speed testing procedure is discussed. Using five materials, the parameter identification is described and relevant material data is provided. The measured stiffnesses and strengths are used to predict the non-linear stress-strain behaviour with an earlier proposed phenomenological damage model for textile composites. The gained orthotropic property-profile provides the input parameters for a numerical analysis of braided composite components using the calibrated model.     

Tensile fatigue behaviour of glass plain-weave fabric composites in on- and off-axis directions

The tension–tension fatigue behaviour of woven fabric composites was investigated in the on-axis and off-axis directions. Similar to the static tensile properties of woven fabric composites, the tension–tension fatigue behaviour of woven fabric composites was also observed to be anisotropic. The fatigue damage development in both the directions was studied using scanning electron microscopy and acoustic emission techniques. The influence of the applied fatigue frequency and the fatigue stress ratio in both the directions was investigated. At a fatigue frequency of 5 Hz, the hysteresis heating will occur more severely in the off-axis direction than in the on-axis direction. Increasing fatigue stress ratio will lead to a lower hysteresis heating.     

3D finite element analysis of tensile notched strength of 2/2 twill weave fabric composites with drilled circular hole

This paper presents the micromechanical three-dimensional finite element models of the 2/2 twill weave T300 carbon/epoxy woven fabric composite laminates with drilled circular holes of different sizes. A fiber breakage failure criterion for predicting the ultimate tensile notched strength of fiber dominated composites is also proposed. It is found that the location of failure initiation for laminates with large hole size is different from those for laminates with smaller holes while the stress concentration may not occur at the notch roots for the fiber dominated laminates. Based on the uniaxial, shear and von Mises stress distributions in the yarn and matrix, the influence of hole-size on the stress distributions and stress concentration is discussed. Standard tensile tests with modifications are performed for this particular type of woven fabric composites. The apparent strain concentration factors and notched strengths determined by experiments are presented and the finite element models are verified by satisfactory correlation between prediction and experiment.     

Mechanical behaviour and microstructural characterization of 3D four‐directional braided SiO2f/SiO2 composites

In this paper, SiO_2f/SiO₂ composites reinforced by 3D four‐directional braided quartz preform were prepared by the silica sol‐infiltration‐sintering method in a relatively low sintering temperature (450 °C). To characterize the mechanical properties of the composites, mechanical testing was carried out under various loading conditions, including tensile, flexural and shear loading. The microstructure and the fracture behaviour of the 3D four‐directional braided SiO_2f/SiO₂ composites were studied. The tensile strength, flexural strength and the in‐plane shear strength were 30.8 MPa, 64.0 MPa and 22.0 MPa, respectively. The as‐fabricated composite exhibited highly nonlinear stress–strain behaviour under all the three types of loading. The tensile and flexural fracture mechanisms were fully discussed. The fracture mode of the 3D four‐directional braided SiO_2f/SiO₂ composite in the Iosipescu shear testing was based on a mixed mechanism because of the multi‐directivity of the composite. Owing to low sintered temperature, the fibre/matrix interfacial strength was weak. The SiO_2f/SiO₂ composites showed non‐catastrophic behaviour resulting from extensive fibre pull‐out during the failure process.     

A comparative study of tensile properties of non-crimp 3D orthogonal weave and multi-layer plain weave E-glass composites. Part 2: Comprehensive experimental results

This Part 2 paper presents results of comparative experimental study of progressive damage in 2D and 3D woven glass/epoxy composites under in-plane tensile loading. As Part 1, this Part 2 work is focused on the comparison of in-plane tensile properties of two non-crimp single-ply 3D orthogonal weave E-glass fibre composites on one side and a laminate reinforced with four plies of E-glass plain weave on the other. The damage investigation methodology combines mechanical testing with acoustic emission registration (that provides damage initiation thresholds), progressive cracks observation on transparent samples, full-field surface strain mapping and cracks observation on micrographs, altogether enabling for a thorough characterisation of the local micro- and meso-damage modes of the studied composites. The obtained results demonstrate that the non-crimp 3D orthogonal woven composites have significantly higher in-plane strengths, failure strains and damage initiation thresholds than their 2D woven laminated counterpart. The growth of transverse cracks in the yarns of 3D composites is delayed, and they are less prone to a yarn–matrix interfacial crack formation and propagation. Delaminations developing between the plies of plain weave fabric in the laminate at certain load level never appear in the 3D woven single-ply composites.     

Effect of testing conditions and microstructure on the sliding wear of graphite fibre/PEEK matrix composites

The sliding friction and wear behaviour of unreinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) matrix and its unidirectional continuous and two-dimensional woven graphite fibre-reinforced composites were investigated. The operating wear mechanisms, as evinced by scanning electron microscopy of the worn surfaces, and the coefficients of friction and the wear rates changed considerably with the fibre reinforcement form and orientation. Sliding wear rates, on account of their extreme sensitivity to the microstructure of the interacting surfaces at the sliding interface, were found to be a function of not only the surface roughness, but also of the sliding time. Complex interactions arising due to the effects of the testing parameters such as fibre orientation, sliding velocity, contact pressure and interface temperature were characterized for the neat matrix and the two composite systems. The wear rates of the two-dimensional woven composites were almost an order of magnitude lower than those of the unidirectional fibre composite or the unreinforced matrix.     

An approach to the mechanical behaviour of SiC/SiC and C/SiC ceramic matrix composites

The mechanical behaviour of two woven composites C/SiC and SiC/SiC was investigated at room temperature. The non-linear load-displacement curves and the damaging process were closely related to the specific structure of the composites, consisting of a network of impregnated bundles of fibres. The damage in the bundles proceeded by multiple cracking in the matrix before fibre failure, and dictated the response to the applied load. Other mechanisms, consisting mainly of distortions in bundles and their framework, induced a residual deformation and an energy dissipation. The behaviour was characterized according to the damaging process. Stress-electric strain curves revealed a mechanical response similar to those observed in unidirectional composites, although some effect of the specimen geometry on the curves was observed. Residual strains were similar in tensile and bending conditions. The work of fracture was consistently described by a volumetric rate of energy absorption, related to the applied strain, but the respective contributions of different damage mechanisms could not be determined.     

三维编织C/SiC复合材料的拉压实验研究

针对三维编织C/SiC复合材料进行了拉伸试验和压缩试验,得到了材料拉伸、压缩的主要力学性能参数、损伤发展情况及破坏规律。从宏观角度比较了在两种载荷下材料弹性性能及强度的区别,得到了一些试验研究结论。结果表明:三维编织C/SiC在拉伸和压缩载荷下的应力-应变曲线有明显的非线性特性;拉伸模量低于压缩模量;拉伸强度高于压缩强度;声发射数据可以用来检测材料内部损伤的发展。      

Tensile properties and failure mechanisms of 3D woven GRP composites

Tensile tests were performed on glass reinforced polymer (GRP) composites with three-dimensional (3D) orthogonal, normal layered interlock, and offset layered interlock woven fibre architectures. The mechanical properties and failure mechanisms under tensile loading were similar for the three composites. Cracks formed at low strains within the resin-rich channels between the fibre tows and around the through-thickness binder yarns in the composites, although this damage did not alter the tensile properties. At higher applied tensile stresses the elastic modulus was reduced by 20–30% due to inelastic tow straightening and cracking around the most heavily crimped in-plane tows. Further softening occurred at higher strains by inelastic straightening of all the tows. Composite failure occurred within a localised region and the discrete tow rupture events that have caused tow lock-up and pullout mechanisms in other 3D woven composites were not observed.