Off-axis tensile performance of notched resin-infused thermoplastic 3D fibre-reinforced composites
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: This study presents a comparison of off-axis tensile performance for notched (open-hole) and unnotched (no-hole) 3D fibre reinforced composites (FRC) specimens having two different types of matrices. The two matrix systems compared are, a novel infusible thermoplastic (Elium) resin and conventional thermoset (epoxy). Three different configurations, (one unnotched and two notched) were tested for each 3D-FRC. The resulting notched net strength, gross strength, failure strains, notch sensitivity and energy absorbed by each configuration were evaluated and compared. Additionally, 2D digital image correlation (DIC) was used to evaluate full-field strain distribution in each case. The results elucidate that thermoplastic 3D-FRCs are notch insensitive irrespective of the notch size and possess higher failure strains (around 30 percent in the cases investigated) and energy absorption (around 33 percent in the cases investigated). In contrast, thermoset 3D-FRC appeared to be notch sensitive, as the notched size increased, and they failed at lower axial strains (up to 60 percent reduction compared to unnotched specimens for the size investigated). Thus, resin-infused thermoplastic off-axis configurations are effective for composite joint applications, particularly in notch-insensitive designs, requiring higher energy absorption and failure strains.
Source: Mechanics of Materials
Authors: S.Z.H. Shah, P.S.M. Megat-Yusoff, Tahir Sharif, Syed Zahid Hussain, R.S. Choudhry
Institutions: Universiti Teknologi Petronas, University of Derby, Air University
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanics of Materials
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,060
Funder: Universiti Teknologi Petronas
Award: G2304133819
OpenAlex ID: W4297399596
