Paper number 470

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPRESSION FAILURE OF CARBON/EPOXY LAMINATED COMPOSITE

Tian Xiang Mao and Vijay Gupta

Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, UCLA

Summary An experimental investigation of the failure of selected compression-loaded [0°]48, [+-30°]12s, [+-45°]12s , [+-60°]12s , [90°]48 Graphite/Epoxy composite laminates is described. For comparison with [+-theta]12s specimens, the compression test for specimens of [30°]48, [45°]48 and [60°]48 were also carried out. A simple compressive test technique is used to obtain the experimental data. The experiment results include compressive strength data and description of laminate failure modes and failure mechanisms. The dominant compression failure modes for the laminates in this study were found to be interlaminar shearing (for [0°]48, [+-30°]12s specimens), fiber scissoring (for [+-45°]12s specimen), in-plane matrix shearing and matrix compression (for [+-60°]12s , [90°]48 specimens). Both [+-30°]12s and [30°]48 specimens had almost the same failure load with the same failure mode, in-plane matrix shearing. The crack was along the fiber direction and the fracture surface was flat in the through-thickness direction. Both [60°]48 and [+-60°]12s specimens had similar failure load and the same failure mode of matrix compression. Both [45°]48 and [+-45°]12s specimens behaved identically until the elastic limit of 150 MPa, after that they behaved quite different.
Keywords composite laminate, compression failure, interlaminar, matrix compression.

Theme : Mechanical and Physical Properties ; Fracture Mechanics and Failure

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