Paper number 793

DAMAGE PROGRESSION ANALYSIS IN 3-D WOVEN COMPOSITE COMPONENTS

F. Coman1, S. John1 and I. Herszberg2

1Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, University, Department of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering,
Bundoora East Campus, Vic. 3083, Australia.
2Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, University, Department of Aerospace Engineering, The Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre for Aerospace Design Technology, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, 3001, Australia.

Summary This work addresses the issue of micro-structural damage of the woven during a deformation process, primarily in the tensile mode. This paper investigates damage initiation and progression in three dimensional multilayer woven glass reinforced plastics (GRP) subjected to uniaxial tensile and shear loading. Two composites made of multilayer woven architectures, hereby named: Orthogonal and Normal Layer Interlock form the basis of this study; It identifies the physical characteristics which initiate the various damage modes, what these modes are and when they occur. During tensile tests, specimens were photographed at various load levels using transmitted light to monitor internal damage. These photographs assisted in the identification of the various stages of failure, and when they occurred. In all cases cracks occurred in the tows both normal and parallel to the testing direction.
Keywords woven architectures, disbonding, internal damage, reduced stiffness, transverse cracks, uniaxial tensile loading.

Theme : Textiles ; Design and Processing

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