Prediction of elastic moduli of angle-ply laminates from various rhombohedral unit cells

The elastic properties of angle-ply laminates are investigated by using the numerical homogenization based on a rhombohedral unit cell. A discussion of the influence of fiber packing geometry on the elastic moduli is included. The efficiency of various fiber distributions is validated by comparing the results of homogenization analyses with the available analytical solutions. The prediction is performed for various values of fiber orientation, fiber volume fraction and ply thickness.     

Edge Delamination and Residual Properties of Drilled Carbon Fiber Composites with and without Short-Aramid-Fiber Interleaf

Edge delamination is frequently observed in carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates after machining, due to the low fracture toughness of the resin interfaces between carbon fiber plies. In this study, the effects of incorporating tough aramid fibers into the brittle CFRP system are quantified by measuring the residual properties of bolted CFRP. By adding short-aramid-fiber interleaves in CFRP laminates, the residual tensile strength have been substantially increased by 14 % for twill-weave laminates and 45 % for unidirectional laminates respectively. Moreover, tensile failure was observed as the major mode of toughened laminates, in contrast to shear failure of plain laminates. The qualitative FEM results agreed well with the experimental results that edge delamination would cause relatively higher shear stress and therefore alter the failure mode from tensile failure to shear failure.     

Improvement of interlaminar mechanical properties of CFRP laminates using VGCF

In order to improve the interlaminar mechanical properties of CFRP laminates, hybrid CFRP/VGCF laminates have been fabricated by using a newly-developed method, i.e., powder method, where the powder of vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) is added at the mid-plane of [0°/0°]₁₄ CFRP laminates. Experimental results of double cantilever beam (DCB) tests indicate the improvement on the interlaminar mechanical properties of Mode-I fracture behavior with much higher critical load P_C and fracture toughness G_IC with VGCF interlayer. Crack propagation and fracture surface have also been observed to interpret this improvement mechanism. Moreover, based on experimental G_IC, numerical simulations using finite element method (FEM) with cohesive elements have been carried out to analyze the delamination propagation. The interlaminar tensile strength of hybrid CFRP/VGCF laminates, which is obtained by matching the numerical load–COD (crack opening displacement) curves to experimental ones, is higher than that of base CFRP laminates.     

Strength evaluation of unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced plastic laminates based on tension–compression biaxial stress tests

Biaxial stress tests of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates were performed to investigate failure criteria under biaxial loads. Specimens of unidirectional CFRP laminates were subjected to a tensile load in the longitudinal fiber direction and a compressive load in the transverse fiber direction. An exclusive jig was used to perform biaxial stress tests with a commonly used single-axis testing machine. Measurements were obtained by controlling the displacement ratio between compressive and tensile displacements. The critical tensile and compressive stresses were then calculated using a constitutive equation. The critical longitudinal tensile stress markedly dropped with increasing the compressive load. The failure criteria of the biaxial stress tests were expressed as the ellipse, of which the major and minor axes were the longitudinal tensile/transverse compressive strengths or fracture strains, respectively. Scanning electron microscope observations suggest that fiber/matrix interfacial debonding due to the compressive load could decrease the critical longitudinal tensile stress.     

Energy absorption efficiency of carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates under high velocity impact

In this paper, response of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates subjected to high velocity impact has been investigated by experimental and numerical methods. Experiments using a two-stage light gas gun were conducted to investigate the impact process and to validate the finite element model. The energy absorption efficiency (EAE) of CFRP laminates with different thickness was investigated. According to the results of experiments and numerical calculations, thin CFRP laminates have a good EAE under relative higher velocity impact; by contraries, a superior EAE is displayed in thick laminates under relative lower velocity impact. Subsequently, EAE of CFRP laminates was compared with that of 304 stainless-steel plates. In a specific impact velocity range, EAE of CFRP laminates is higher than that of 304 stainless-steel. Thus, CFRP laminates have a potential advantage to substitute the metal plates to be used in high velocity impact resistance structures under a specific impact velocity range.     

Analysis of time-dependent deformation of a CFRP mirror under hot and humid conditions

The long-term micro-dimensional stability of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) mirror was investigated in terms of creep deformation, moisture swelling and self-shrinkage. A 4-point bending creep test was carried out using specimens made from pitch-based high-modulus CFRP laminates to obtain a creep constant based on linear viscoelasticity, and we then investigated the weight change and geometrical change during a moisture absorption test using a CFRP specimen. The anisotropic diffusivities and coefficients of moisture expansion (CMEs) in CFRP laminates were obtained by fitting analytical data into the experimental data. Finally, the shrinkage behavior caused by physical aging of the polymeric material was examined using a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor embedded in the neat resin specimen. Applying these results, we analyzed the geometrical changes in a CFRP mirror that resulted from time-dependent deformation by the mirror’s weight, moisture absorption and physical aging, respectively. We discuss which factor is dominant in the deformation of CFRP mirrors under various conditions.     

准静态压痕力作用下复合材料层合板的凹坑深度预测方法

建立了一种在准静态压痕力作用下复合材料层合板凹坑深度的预测方法。首先采用基于应变描述的Hashin 和 Yeh 失效准则并结合有限元法, 对复合材料层合板在准静态压痕力作用下的失效过程进行渐进损伤分析, 获取一系列的材料性能退化信息。其次采用Sun的方法对局部损伤区材料的弹性参数进行等效处理。最后结合Turner的接触理论预测了凹坑深度-接触力曲线。计算结果表明, 基体开裂与分层是导致层合板开始产生凹坑的主要原因, 纤维断裂是导致凹坑深度急剧增加的主要原因。分层起始载荷、 最大接触力及各自相应的凹坑深度的预测结果与试验值具有较好的一致性。      

Experimental and numerical studies of initial cracking in CFRP cross-ply laminates

This work is concerned with the conditions for formation of the first (initial) cracks in composite laminates with cutouts or ply drop-offs subjected to in-plane loading. We study here the crack formation on the free edge of CFRP cross-ply laminates experimentally and by numerical stress and failure analysis. The free-edge surface strains are measured by the digital image correlation (DIC) technique. The numerical analysis consists of a two-scale approach, where the macro-level analysis is performed with a three-dimensional finite-element method (3D FEM) and the micro-level analysis uses a periodic unit-cell (PUC) in the transverse plies. The constitutive assumption made for the macro-level analysis is an orthotropic linear thermo-elastic solid for the unidirectional plies with a thin isotropic viscoplastic layer between the longitudinal and transverse plies. In the PUC, the fibers are assumed linear elastic, while the matrix is modeled as an elastic–viscoplastic solid. Crack formation is assumed to occur in the matrix by the dilatation induced brittle failure mechanism for which the dilatation energy density criterion is used.     

Co-Curing of CFRP-Steel Hybrid Joints Using the Vacuum Assisted Resin Infusion Process

This study focuses on the one-step co-curing process of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) joined with a steel plate to form a hybrid structure. In this process CFRP laminate and bond to the metal are realized simultaneously by resin infusion, such that the same resin serves for both infusion and adhesion. For comparison, the commonly applied two-step process of adhesive bonding is studied. In this case, the CFRP laminate is fabricated in a first stage through resin infusion of Non Crimp Fabric (NCF) and joined to the steel plate in a further step through adhesive bonding. For this purpose, the commercially available epoxy-based Betamate 1620 is applied. CFRP laminates were fabricated using two different resin systems, namely the epoxy (EP)-based RTM6 and a newly developed fast curing polyurethane (PU) resin. Results show comparable mechanical performance of the PU and EP based CFRP laminates. The strength of the bond of the co-cured samples was in the same order as the samples adhesively bonded with the PU resin and the structural adhesive. The assembly adhesive with higher ductility showed a weaker performance compared to the other tests. It could be shown that the surface roughness had the highest impact on the joint performance under the investigated conditions.     

Hybrid carbon fiber composite lattice truss structures

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite sandwich panels with hybrid foam filled CFRP pyramidal lattice cores have been assembled from linear carbon fiber braids and Divinycell H250 polymer foam trapezoids. These have been stitched to 3D woven carbon fiber face sheets and infused with an epoxy resin using a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process. Sandwich panels with carbon fiber composite truss volumes of 1.5–17.5% of the core volume have been fabricated, and the through-thickness compressive strength and modulus measured, and compared with micromechanical models that establish the relationships between the mechanical properties of the core, its topology and the mechanical properties of the truss and foam. The through thickness modulus and strength of the hybrid cores is found to increase with increasing truss core volume fraction. However, the lattice strength saturates at high CFRP truss volume fraction as the proportion of the truss material contained in the nodes increases. The use of linear carbon fiber braids is shown to facilitate the simpler fabrication of hybrid CFRP structures compared to previously described approaches. Their specific strength, moduli and energy absorption is found to be comparable to those made by alternative approaches.     

Electric current distribution of carbon fiber reinforced polymer beam: analysis and experimental measurements

The authors have previously proposed an effective method for analyzing the electric current density of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites using an anisotropic electric potential function. The method is based on the assumption that CFRP laminates are homogeneous orthotropic materials. Actual CFRP laminates are, however, heterogeneous materials, having resin-rich layers and carbon fiber layers. In the present study, the electric conductance is calculated on the assumption that CFRP laminates are homogeneous using electrical resistance data measured by a four-probe method, and used for electric current analysis. A new specimen design is proposed to allow the electric current distribution of CFRP laminates to be investigated experimentally. The results obtained confirm that our analysis method is accurate for determining the electric current density of actual CFRP laminates. Thus, the assumption that CFRP laminates may be considered homogeneous orthotropic materials for electric current analysis is experimentally verified.     

Fabrication of Microchanneled Composites by Novel Selective Polymer Degradation

In this research a new low-cost, highly compatible method is proposed and demonstrated to create microchannels within carbon fiber reinforced polymeric (CFRP) composite laminates that caused a lower mechanical loss due to their presence. In it, microchannels were created within the CFRP composite laminate by selective degradation of the specially selected polymer, whose solid preforms were placed at specific locations within dry fabric layers during composite manufacturing by resin infusion. Interlaminar shear (ILSS) and three-point-bend flexural tests were carried out on CFRP composite laminates with and without microchannels of different diameters to assess their effect on structural strength. The results showed that inclusion of microchannels within the CFRP composite laminates decreased their ILSS and flexural strength, which decreased steadily with the increase in channel diameter. The mechanism for these observed results was found to be the creation of resin-rich areas, microchannels and lessened fiber content by the addition of microchannels. These mechanical testing results were compared with the results of CFRP composite laminates with microchannels, inserted by hollow glass tubes (HGTs), and it was found that the new applied strategy was quite effective in introducing microchannels within CFRP composite laminates with reduced mechanical loss and provided more space for additional functionalities.     

粘弹性复合材料中的渐近均匀化方法

主要研究了由各向同性线弹性加强体和各向同性线粘弹性基体组成的复合材料的问题。在已有的线弹性多层材料的渐近均匀化方法的基础上,应用弹性-粘弹性对应原理,在Carson域中求解粘弹性问题,通过两次运用均匀化方法,得到一类单向强化复合材料的有效模量的表达式。反演可得到单向强化复合材料的有效松弛模量在时间域中的表达式,并且与其它结果进行了比较。     

湿热环境对碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料力学性能的影响及其损伤机理

采用加速吸湿法研究经3种湿热环境(湿度为85%RH,温度分别为25,70,85℃)处理后CFRP层合板的吸湿特性,对吸湿前后的碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料(CFRP)层合板分别进行拉伸、压缩、剪切实验,研究其力学性能变化规律,利用扫描电镜和红外光谱分析湿热环境中CFRP层板的损伤机理,最后采用最小二乘法拟合提出湿热环境下CFRP层合板力学性能的预测公式。结果表明:CFRP层合板的吸湿初期特性符合Fick定律;相同湿度下环境温度越高,CFRP的吸湿速率和平衡吸湿率越大,达到吸湿平衡所需时的间越长;3种湿热环境处理后的CFRP层板的90°拉伸和剪切力学性能下降最明显;经湿热环境处理后水分子通过氢键与环氧树脂发生缔合,但CFRP层合板中的各组分未发生化学结构变化;拟合建立的不同湿热条件下力学性能衰退公式与实验结果基本一致。     

Lightning Damage of Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Laminates with Interlayers Modified by Nickel-Coated Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The numerical model of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates with electrically modified interlayers subjected to lightning strike is constructed through finite element simulation, in which both intra-laminar and inter-laminar lightning damages are considered by means of coupled electrical-thermal-pyrolytic analysis method. Then the lightning damage extents including the damage volume and maximum damage depth are investigated. The results reveal that the simulated lightning damages could be qualitatively compared to the experimental counterparts of CFRP laminates with interlayers modified by nickel-coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Ni-MWCNTs). With higher electrical conductivity of modified interlayer and more amount of modified interlayers, both damage volume and maximum damage depth are reduced. This work provides an effective guidance to the anti-lightning optimization of CFRP laminates.     

Two-scale homogenization of elastic layered composites with interfaces oscillating in two directions

In a variety of situations of practical interest, the interface between two phases in a composite cannot be reasonably assumed to be smooth but has to be taken as being rough at the microscopic scale. How to determine the effective properties of such a composite remains a largely open problem in micromechanics. The present work is concerned with layered composites in which the interface between two neighboring layers oscillates quickly and periodically along two directions in the plane normal to the layering direction. In this case, the classical homogenization theory of layered composites is no longer applicable, since the interfacial oscillations prevent the layered composite in question from being homogeneous in the plane perpendicular to the layering direction. To overcome this difficulty, a two-scale homogenization method is proposed in the present work. First, at the mesoscopic scale, each zone in which an interface oscillates is homogenized as an interphase by an asymptotic analysis. The effective elastic properties of this interphase are determined by using a numerical method based on the fast Fourier transform (FFT) or estimated by applying the generalized self-consistent scheme (GSCS). Then, at the macroscopic scale, the effective elastic moduli of the composite made of the resulting plane layers and interphases are calculated with the help of the classical homogenization theory of layered composites. Finally, numerical examples are provided to illustrate the results for the effective elastic moduli of a layered composite obtained by the two-scale homogenization method proposed and to compare them with the corresponding numerical results given by the finite element method (FEM).     

形状记忆合金-玻璃纤维/环氧树脂复合材料在振动边界条件下的低速冲击数值模拟

采用有限元方法（FEM）研究了振动边界条件对形状记忆合金（SMA）-玻璃纤维/环氧树脂复合材料的抗低速冲击性能的影响。在数值模拟过程中,将改进的三维Hashin失效准则和Brinson模型分别应用于玻璃纤维/环氧树脂复合材料层合板和SMA,以表征其本构关系。首先通过与固定边界条件下的SMA-玻璃纤维/环氧树脂复合材料板低速冲击实验进行比较,验证了数值模拟过程中所用模型及材料参数的准确性。其次,在模拟过程中,应用了包含不同振幅的一系列振动边界条件,对其进行模拟,揭示了振动边界条件对其抗低速冲击性能的影响。数值模拟结果表明,在大振幅条件下,无SMA复合材料的抗冲击性能比小振幅条件下弱;在相同振动边界条件下,SMA-玻璃纤维/环氧树脂复合材料与无SMA复合材料相比,其抗低速冲击性能提高。      

基于细观仿真建模的CFRP细观破坏

碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料(CFRP)在细观上呈现纤维、树脂及界面组成的混合态,其切削加工过程的实质为刀具作用下材料细观层面的破坏至切屑宏观形成的演化过程。为了揭示CFRP切削加工过程中材料的细观破坏,建立了CFRP切削的细观有限元模型。该模型在几何上包含了纤维、基体及界面等组成相,而不是使用传统的等效均质建模方法。各组成相不仅考虑了各自不同的材料本构,而且为了能够模拟材料破坏,还将各组成相材料的失效及演化准则考虑其中。该模型可从细观层面更真实地模拟不同纤维角度CFRP单向板切削过程中纤维/基体断裂、界面开裂及演化的过程。仿真结果表明:不同纤维角度下CFRP细观破坏不同,切削0℃FRP时以界面开裂和纤维弯断为主;切削45°/90℃FRP时主要是刀具侵入工件,纤维基体被压断;切削135℃FRP时则以纤维弯曲断裂为主,断裂面往往在加工面以下。通过实验显微在线观测手段验证了模拟结果的正确性。      

Short time tensile behavior of unidirectional glass and carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates with curved shapes

A newly developed confining system for rectangular columns required a wrapping, which sustained a large amount of parasitic bending due to the curved shape of the laminates at the cross-section corners. To investigate the effect of parasitic bending on unidirectional carbon (CFRP) and glass fiber (GFRP) reinforced polymer laminates, 4 ply coupons were laminated with a semi-elastic hybrid resin and cured in a curved shape. During the tensile tests, the curved coupons stretched and failed after further loading. Due to the parasitic bending, occurring during stretching, the tensile resistance was reduced by 48% for the CFRP and by only 18% for the GFRP coupons. Tests with high-strength, high-modulus epoxy resin laminated GFRP coupons were drawn upon and compared with the semi-elastic hybrid resin laminated GFRP coupons. There is a beneficial effect on the tensile resistance with the use of semi-elastic hybrid resin.