Moisture absorption and mechanical and acoustic responses in shear of a glass fiber fabric/epoxy resin composite

An analysis of the mechanical and acoustic responses of a laminate composed of 12 layers of glass fiber fabric/epoxy resin and conditioned in environments with relative humidities of 0, 60, and 96% RH at 60°C is presented. The first part of the study consists in following the weight gain according to the duration of hygrothermal conditioning, and the second part—in test ing 45°-oriented specimens in uniaxial tension up to failure at constant imposed displacement rates, with registrating the acoustic emission to track the damage process. The influence of moisture content in the material showed up as a significant decrease in its shear modulus, shear stress, and acoustic emission with growing quantity of absorbed water. An exponential function is proposed for describing the relationship between the varying shear modulus and the shear strain. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 595–602, September–October, 2007.     

Numerical aspects on computational homogenization of epoxy/glass composites

Numerical aspects of two-scale modeling of epoxy/glass composites are presented. The homogenization process is carried out under consideration of periodic boundary constraints (PBC) of the representative volume element (RVE) due to the periodic structure of glassfiber reinforced epoxy systems. The introduction of artificial constraints for computing macro-stresses and macro-moduli is presented by giving the modified algorithmic treatment of a two-scale approach using PBC. The proposed algorithm is applied to an ISO 527 epoxy/glass test specimen. The results of computations considering or not considering interphases and interfaces within the composite are compared. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Micromechanical modelling and two-scale simulation of epoxy/glass composites with interphases and interfaces

Composite systems consisting of glass fibres and epoxy matrix with interphases and interfaces will be considered in the modelling approach. The interphase forms the transition zone between the epoxy matrix and the glass fibre. The interface is the layer between the glass fibre and the surrounding interphase. The macroscopic strength of the composite material is intrinsically related to the bond strength of the polymeric/solid interface and the micromechanical characteristics of the three phases (epoxy, glass and interphase). Homogenization is an appropriate methodology to link these two scales to predict the overall physical behaviour of the composite. The nonlinear behaviour of amorphous polymers, cohesive interface elements and the elastic behaviour of glass fibres as part of the considered composite material are presented, as well as a representative example to show the necessity of taking interface influences into account. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Fatigue strength of glass fiber/epoxy angle-ply laminates with different matrix ductility

Conclusion Angle ply laminates made up of glass fiber/epoxy plies have a good static strength for laminate angles up to about 45 °. This is due to the limitation of transverse strain in the plies due to constraints exerted by neighboring plies. At laminate angles of 50 ° and above the transverse and shear strains in the plies are not sufficiently constrained and cause failure in the matrix material. The constraint effect is present in fatigue but since the polymeric matrix material is sensitive to fatigue loading fatigue failure will occur at much lower strain levels than in static loading. This effect cannot be offset by increasing the ductility of the matrix material. Thus, strain to failure under fatigue loading will be only a small fraction of the static strain to failure for angle ply laminates with ply angles up to around 45 ° where the static strength is due to the constraint effect.Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 5, pp. 632–638, September–October, 1992.     

Macromechanical characteristics deduced from tests on glass/epoxy composites with optical methods

Experimental results are required to verify the simulation results obtained by the homogenisation procedure of a biaxial weftknitted fabric reinforced composite with the Binary Model [1]. Tensile, bending and shear tests were performed to investigate and validate the elastic macro‐mechanical behaviour of the composite material. Beside other methods an optical whole‐field measuring system was used to estimate the deformation in all tests. Additionally, natural frequencies and the appropriate mode shapes of plates were used to get the elements of the compliance matrix. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Interlaminar fracture of multidirectional glass/epoxy laminates under mixed-mode I + II loading

The mixed-mode I + II interlaminar fracture of multidirectional glass/epoxy laminates is investigated. Mixed-mode bending (MMB) tests were performed on specimens with delaminations in 0/θ-type interfaces, with θ varying from 0 to 90°. Preliminary three-dimensional finite-element analyses validated the beam theory model (BTM) used for analysing experimental data. The compliances measured are in a good agreement with BTM predictions. The total critical energy release rate G_c varies linearly with the mode II ratio G_II/G, although some discrepancies are observed in the high-mode II results for the 0/45 and 0/90 specimens. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 349–366, May–June, 2007.     

Effect of hydrostatic pressure on the water absorption of epoxy polymers

The water absorption of epoxy polymers at hydrostatic pressures up to 1000 kgf/cm² has been studied. It has been shown that pressure very definitely reduces the water absorption value but essentially does not change the diffusion coefficient of water into the polymers under study. An explanation of the data obtained is given.     

Strength of adhesion of epoxy polymer to carbon,glass, and steel fibers

A study has been made of the strength of adhesion of epoxy polymer to fibers of various chemical natures, and it has been shown that the magnitude of the adhesion depends not only on the nature of the fiber but also on its surface geometry. Questions are discussed on the effect of residual (internal) stresses arising during the process of heat-treating or cooling samples of bonded articles on the strength of the adhesive bond.Institute of Chemical Physics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 37–42, January–February, 1974.     

Effect of a uniaxial load on moisture absorption by an epoxy binder

Conclusion The above-developed method of studying the effect of uniaxial compressive and tensile loads on moisture absorption in polymers was tested on epoxy binder EDT-10. It was established experimentally for this material that tensile stresses up to 50 MPa significantly increase the equilibrium moisture content (up to 20% of the initial value). There is a corresponding increase in the rate of moisture absorption during the initial stage of the sorption process — up to 80% of the initial value. No changes in the diffusion coefficient were seen in this case. The application of compressive stresses of up to 40 MPa also had no effect on the kinetics of moisture absorption.Deceased.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 110–115, January–February, 1993.     

Water absorption and its effect on rubber strength

The effect of the swelling of rubbers in water and their recovery on the tear strength of the material has been investigated and a mechanism of water absorption is proposed. It is shown that there is a fundamental difference between the mechanism of water absorption and swelling in solvents. The strength of a rubber dried after being kept in water is anomalously high. This effect is explained in terms of the proposed polymer-nonsolvent interaction mechanism.É. A. Ter-Gazaryan State Scientific-Research and Design Institute of Polymer Adhesives, Kirovakan. Moscow Technological Institute of the Meat and Dairy Industry. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 136–138, January–February, 1970.     

Microscopic and macroscopic modelling of foams

The macroscopic behaviour of foams is influenced by the size and structure of the pores. Therefore, a Cosserat theory is motivated by a micromechanical beam model. A homogenization strategy is applied to the micromechanical model leading to results that are comparable to the predictions of the macroscopic Cosserat model.     

Multiple cracking in carbon/epoxy laminates and pre-stressing of fibers

The multiple cracking of laminates with brittle plies can be suppressed by prestraining in tension of the fibers in the ductile plies. Experiments with tensile loading, acoustic emission, and crack counting demonstrate that such multiple cracking can be delayed and thus higher working strains can be allowed (without multiple cracking) for such laminates. In [0°/±65°/0°] laminates the strain for crack initiation can be increased from about 9.9% (for no prestrain) to above 1.4% (for 0.8% prestrain).Presented at the Ninth International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials, Riga. October, 1995.Materials Department, Risøe National Laboratory, Roskilde, Denmark. Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 350–362, May–June, 1996.     

Interlaminar fracture and low-velocity impact of carbon/epoxy composite materials

The interlaminar fracture and the low-velocity impact behavior of carbon/epoxy composite materials have been studied using width-tapered double cantilever beam (WTDCB), end-notched flexure (ENF), and Boeing impact specimens. The objectives of this research are to determine the essential parameters governing interlaminar fracture and damage of realistic laminated composites and to characterize a correlation between the critical strain energy release rates measured by interlaminar fracture and by low-velocity impact tests. The geometry and the lay-up sequence of specimens are designed to probe various conditions such as the skewness parameter, beam volume, and test fixture. The effect of interfacial ply orientations and crack propagation directions on interlaminar fracture toughness and the effect of ply orientations and thickness on impact behavior are examined. The critical strain energy release rate was calculated from the respective tests: in the interlaminar fracture test, the compliance method and linear beam theory are used; the residual energy calculated from the impact test and the total delamination area estimated by ultrasonic inspection are used in the low-velocity impact test. Results show that the critical strain energy release rate is affected mainly by ply orientations. The critical strain energy release rate measured by the low-velocity impact test lies between the mode I and mode II critical strain energy release rates obtained by the interlaminar fracture test. Submitted to the 11th International Conference on Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, June 11–15, 2000). Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 195–214, March–April, 2000.     

Mechanical properties of henequen fibre/epoxy resin composites

By using surface-treated and untreated henequen fibres and an epoxy resin, composites were made by compression moulding, and their mechanical properties and failure modes were determined experimentally in tension, bending, and impact loading. The results obtained show that the treatment of fibre surface does not improve the bond between the fibres and the resin matrix, and the general mechanical properties of the composites are similar.     

A coupled FEM/DG approach for the simulation of cavitating micro foams

We consider difficulties which arise during our simulations of cavitating micro foams. The compatibility of velocity and transport, satisfaction of a maximum principle and generalization of an incompressible Navier-Stokes solver. (© 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Electric field effect on properties of PT/epoxy nanocomposites

The structure and optic properties of PbTiO₃ nanocrystalline powder/epoxy composites are studied under different electric fields during solidification. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scattered light, ultraviolet optic absorption and second harmonic generation (SHG) of the composites are measured. Results show that the electric field has a great effect on the properties of nanocomposites. The mechanism of electric field production is discussed. Project supported by the National Advanced Materials Research Project and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China.     

Simulation of skin-stiffener debonding in stiffened carbon/epoxy panels

Aircraft fuselage structures are typically composed of a curved skin connected to longitudinal stiffeners. They are nowadays made of carbon/epoxy laminates. Skin-stiffener debonding can lead to a significant reduction of their compressive loadcarrying capacity in the postbuckling range of response. This work examines this effect in the framework of the finite element method. A zero-thickness interface element written in terms of cohesive tractions and relative displacements is derived which is inserted between skin and stiffener. A special cohesive law already presented in [1, 2] describes the softening behavior of the interface while taking into account contact conditions. A numerical example shows the applicability of the model. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)