Paper number 1035

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FIBRE ARCHITECTURE AND CRACKING DAMAGE IN A KNITTED FABRIC REINFORCED COMPOSITE

C.R. Rios¹, S.L. Ogin¹,, C. Lekakou¹ and K.H. Leong²

1School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
University of Surrey. Guildford, GU2 5XH, England
2Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Composites Structures Limited
506 Lorimer Street, Fishermen's Bend, Victoria, 3207, Australia

Summary

The relationship between fibre architecture and cracking damage in a knitted fabric reinforced composite has been studied under tensile loading conditions. A novel technique has been employed to make a sandwich laminate, consisting of a knitted fabric layer sandwiched between two 0° layers. This specimen configuration, together with the transparency of the laminate, enables features of the cracking damage to be related to the fabric architecture.

Keywords

damage development, knitted fabric composites, mechanical properties, crack accumulation.