Fatigue of a glass-fiber-reinforced plastic under sonic-frequency vibrations

A procedure is described for fatigue tests of glass-fiber-reinforced plastics specimens under conditions of symmetrical extension and compression with a steady peak of dynamic stress at a vibration frequency of approximately 500 Hz. As a test for fatigue failure we chose the steep increase in the mechanical loss angle of the vibrating system which occurs when a macrocrack is formed in the specimen. The time dependence has been plotted for the mechanical loss angle, the resonance frequency of the vibrations system, a parameter proportional to the peak deformation of the specimen, and the temperature of vibrational heating-up in its cross section where there is the greatest stress. The progress of these dependences has been analyzed in the build-up of fatigue damage in the material. An experimental relation has been obtained between the resultant dissipative function of the material and the peak dynamic stress. Results are given of fatigue tests on specimens of a glass-reinforced plastic winding cut in the weft direction of the reinforcing fabric.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1039–1043, November–December, 1972.     

Acoustic creep of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic

A method of investigating acoustic creep of polymer composites developing under the effect of static tensile forces and small amplitudes of dynamic stresses with a frequency of 20 kHz acting coaxially with the static loads is considered. Results of investigating acoustic creep of glass-fabric-reinforced plastic are presented. It is shown that the presence of a high-frequency stress component regularly accelerates relaxation processes and reduces considerably the deformation resistance of the material. Generalized curves simulating the long-time static creep of reinforced plastic are constructed by the method of temperature-time, stress-time, and vibration-time analogies. The results of prediction are compared with the control experiment.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 397–404, May–June, 1973.     

Winding glass-reinforced plastic rings under programmed tension

The strength, stiffness, and initial stresses of glass-reinforced plastic rings wound under variable tension in accordance with five different programs are considered. The relative thickness of the rings was 0.15–0.20. It is shown that the law of variation of the tension on the tape during winding has an important effect on the investigated parameter.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 361–364, March–April, 1971.     

Analysis of the carrying capacity of panels under biaxial tension with shear

A method is described applicable to the analysis of the carrying capacity of flat or curved panels, made of composite materials, under biaxial tension with shear. The design of a test apparatus is shown, and the errors in simulating a given load distribution on it are evaluated.     

Relation between the vectors E and S for a plastic material in succesive biaxial tension

The local strains theory is used to determine the values of the components of the vector E{E₁, E₂} in five-dimensional space for a material subjected to successive biaxial tension at degrees of nonlinearity n=3 and n=5. The relation between the vectors E and S and the tangents to the loading and strain trajectories is considered together with the relation between the moduli E of the strains for simple and complex loading.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 975–979, November–December, 1969.     

Statistical analysis of some characteristics of cylindrical glass-fiber-reinforced plastic materials

The results are given of a statistical treatment of experimental data on several characteristics of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic cylindrical shells, prepared from glass fabric TS8/3-250 and epoxide binder IF-ÉD-6 (TU-26-59) at the "Électroizolit" factory by winding an impregnated fabric cloth on a mandrel. The experim ental data on the mechanical properties of the glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material were obtained in tests on representative samples cut from the margin of the cylindrical shells. The results of the statistical analysis can be used to evaluate the mechanical reliability of structures made of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic material of the above type.Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 906–910, September–October, 1973.     

Long-time strength of polyethylene in biaxial tension

The long-time strength of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in biaxial tension has been experimentally investigated at ratios of the principal stress components =₁/₂=0, 0.5, 1, 4. The maximum duration of the experiments was 2500 h. The limit surface for HDPE has been constructed. It is shown that the limit surface for this material varies with time as the mode of fracture changes from quasibrittle at medium stresses to brittle at low stresses. In the case of quasibrittle fracture the condition of equivalence of simple and plane states of stress is satisfactorily described by the Malmeister and Gol'denblat-Kopnov criteria, and in the case of brittle fracture by the maximum normal stress criterion.All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Hydromechanization, Sanitary Engineering, and Special Construction, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 401–408, May–June, 1976.     

Reaction of sloping spherical shells of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic during nonstationary loading

The behavior of spherical shells of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic under the action of exponentially changing dynamic loading was studied in a nonlinear formulation. The method of finite differences, used in the form of an explicit difference scheme, was used to solve the differential equations of the dynamics of sloping shells based on the Kirchhoff-Love hypotheses. The characteristic features of the deformation process and the influence of the degree of anistropy of the shell material operating under conditions of dynamic loading are noted.Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 311–314, March–April, 1975.     

A method of preventing cracking during heat treatment of thick-walled glass-fiber-reinforced plastic shells

To avoid cracking of thick-walled glass-fiber-reinforced plastic shells during heat treatment, it is suggested that the shells should be heat treated under pressure. This method is based on a comparison between the kinetics of the internal stresses σ_r.max(T) and strength σ _r ^str (T) during cooling. The authors give expressions for the optimum pressure, based on an elastic model of the material.     

Compensation of thermal stresses in glass-fiber-reinforced plastic articles by the layerwise winding method

The contact pressures which must be created during winding with layerwise hardening in order to compensate radial stresses on the contact surfaces of the layers are determined. The tensions realizing the necessary pressures are calculated. The relations obtained are checked experimentally.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 640–645, July–August, 1972.     

Influence of vibration on creep in glass-fiber-reinforced plastic in a complex state of stress

The author describes the method and results of tests on tubular specimens of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic for creep under simultaneous torsion (shear in the plane of reinforcement), compression, and vibration in the longitudinal direction. He finds that vibratory creep is not manifested if the amplitudes of the alternating component of the stress are up to 0.1 times the limit of short-term strength and the frequency is 20 kHz.Institute of Mechanics of Polymers, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 358–360, March–April, 1974.     

Load-bearing capacity of compressible plates of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic with different placement of the reinforcement

The effect of placement of reinforcement on the load-bearing capacity of circular and rectangular plates compressible in the reinforcement plane was evaluated experimentally. Four placement schemes for circular plates and nine for rectangular plates were investigated. Different schemes of supporting the edges were studied. Two mechanisms of exhaustion of the bearing capacity were revealed. A numerical evaluation and comparison of different placement schemes with respect to the value of the critical and breaking load are given. The role of the actual realization of clamping and nonlinearity of the material is shown. A comparison with analytic relations taking into account the characteristics of the material is given.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 646–653, July–August, 1972.