Effect of thermal cycling and open-hole size on mechanical properties of polymer matrix composites

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of thermal cycling on mechanical degradation of polymer matrix composites (PMCs). Un-notched and open-hole specimens are tested using developed thermal cycling apparatus and tensile test machine. In addition, the hole-size effect of open-hole tension glass/epoxy composite laminates is investigated. The tensile strength, mass loss and surface degradation of the specimens were obtained during 250 cycles. Experimental results showed that the holes diameter is the main parameter to control the thermal cycling effects on open hole structure. Also, it is found that laminates with smaller holes have higher tensile strength variation than those with larger holes. The results showed that increment of the hole diameter and number of cycles decreases the tensile strength.

Natural Composite Reinforced by Lontar (Borassus flabellifer) Fiber: An Experimental Study on Open-Hole Tensile Strength

“…In general, there are no different damage mechanisms between different hole configurations of lontar fiber-reinforced composites. This kind of damage phenomenon was also described by previous study [ 12 ] for quasi-isotropic carbon/epoxy composite.…”

“…This work concluded that the increase of hole size produced different damage mechanisms and higher stress concentration at the edge of the hole. In similar terms of the hole size effect on tensile strength of polymer matrix composite, Ghasemi and Moradi [ 12 ] found that composites with smaller holes have higher tensile strength compared to those with bigger holes. The increment of hole size produced larger area of failure and different failure mode.…”

Loading rate sensitivity of liquid nitrogen conditioned glass fiber reinforced polymeric composites: An emphasis on tensile and thermal responses

“…Due to their low density, nowadays the conventional metallic counterparts are being replaced by FRPs in many LN 2 fuel tanks in storage and transportation. But in‐service conditions, these composites are severely affected by various environmental parameters like humid atmosphere, high temperatures, low and sub‐zero environment, thermal shock, thermal cycling, and also different types of loadings, and often combination of different types of loadings and aforesaid environments . Nowadays, in aerospace related applications the fuel tanks made up of conventional materials are being substituted by advanced polymer matrix composite materials.…”

Residual stress and failure analyses of polymer matrix composites considering thermal cycling and temperature effects based on classical laminate plate theory

“…There are a number of experiments available which have been designed based on the Taguchi method and that have analyzed the influence of various parameters such as the lay-up, number of thermal cycles and weight fraction of fibers on the mechanical properties. 8–10 The mechanical properties of specimens are obtained using the tensile test before and after the thermal cycling load. Also, a regression analysis was developed for modeling the mechanical properties using the effective factors.…”