Effects of Long-term Exposure on E-glass Composite Material Subjected to Stress Corrosion in a Saline Medium

[EN] This work provides an insight on very long-term degradation of polyester-fiber glass composites immersed more than 30,000 h in saline medium under service stresses. Samples were loaded under bending conditions with stresses both in the elastic and plastic fields, with the result that characteristics in a flexural mode were able to be determined and the ensuing decrease in characteristics was fitted to an exponential model. The degree of losses ranged from 25 to 31% for the bending modulus, from 28 to 35% for the flexural strength, and from 40 to 51% for the specific fracture energy. The most notable losses were for specimens immersed in artificial sea water under a continuous stress of 140 MPa, corresponding to the plastic behavior of the material. Although the existence of matrix plasticization is doubtful, the osmotic effects of the diffusion on the matrix and the junction to the fibers, the presence of microcracks, and the effects of chemical ions in the medium on the surface fiber composition became evident in the strength degradation of the material.Segovia López, EF.; Salvador Moya, MD.; Sahuquillo Navarro, O.; Vicente Escuder, Á. (2007). Effects of Long-term Exposure on E-glass Composite Material Subjected to Stress Corrosion in a Saline Medium. Journal of Composite Materials. 41(17):2119-2128. doi:10.1177/0021998307074134S21192128411

Mechanical Response of Stitched T300 Mat/Urethane 420 IMR Composite Laminates: Property/Orientation Dependence and Damage Evolution

This report presents experimental and analytical results of investigations on the mechanical response of stitched T300 mat/urethane 420 IMR composite laminates with three different lay-up configurations. Tensile tests and short-term creep and recovery tests were conducted on the laminate coupons at various orientations. The X-ray photographic technique was adopted to detect the internal damage due to external loading history. The tensile data of laminates with antisymmetric and symmetric lay-ups indicated that lay- up sequences of cross-ply laminates do not have much influence on their tensile properties. However, misalignments within the stitch-bonded plies disturb the symmetry of intended quasi-isotropic laminates and thereby cause the mechanical properties to exhibit a certain amount of angular dependence. Classic lamination theory was found to be able to provide a very good prediction of tensile properties for the stitched laminates within linear range. Creep and recovery response of laminate coupons is greatly dependent on loading angles and load levels. The internal damage of laminate coupons is also directly related to loading angles and load levels as well as loading history

A mechanics model for the deformation of swirl-mat composites

Swirl-mat polymeric composites are considered as representative materials for application in the automotive industry. This article summarizes a three-year long effort to characterize, model, and predict the deformation of these composites under stress, temperature, cyclic loadings, and the ingress of fluids. The effort involved several hundred characterization tests of various kinds and the formulation of a constitutive model based upon fundamental principles of irreversible thermodynamics and continuum mechanics. The above-mentioned experiments and model development were performed interactively. Subsequently, the model was employed in a predictive manner to anticipate experimental data collected under complex load and temperature histories, as well as to predict long-term behavior from short-term data

Some Aspects of the Deformation Response of Swirl-Mat Composites

This report concerns the mechanical response of random glass fiber strand swirl-mat/urethane matrix composite under static and cyclic loads as well as under elevated temperatures and exposure to distilled water. The article presents an extensive amount of experimental data as well as predictions based on a couple damage/viscoelastic constitutive formulation generated to model the specific behavior of the material at hand. Damage evolution relations are derived from an empirical relationship. This work extends previously published results. It is shown that the current model has the capability to predict long-term response on the basis of short-term data and account for time-varying stresses and temperatures

Durability of polymer matrix composites for automotive structural applications: A state-of-the-art review

A key unanswered question that must be addressed before polymeric composites will be widely used in automotive structural components is their known durability. Major durability issues are the effects that cyclic loadings, creep, automotive fluid environments, and low-energy impacts have on dimensional stability, strength, and stiffness throughout the required life of a composite component. This report reviews the current state of understanding in each of these areas. It also discusses the limited information that exists on one of the prime candidate materials for automotive structural applications--an isocyanurate reinforced with a continuous strand, swirl mat. Because of the key role that nondestructive evaluations must play in understanding damage development and progression, a chapter is included on ultrasonic techniques. A final chapter then gives conclusions and recommendations for research needed to resolve the various durability issues. These recommendations will help provide a sound basis for program planning for the Durability of Lightweight Composite Structures Project sponsored by the US Department of Energy in cooperation with the Automotive Composites Consortium of Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors

Durability-Based Design Guide for an Automotive Structural Composite: Part 2. Background Data and Models

This background report is a companion to the document entitled ''Durability-Based Design Criteria for an Automotive Structural Composite: Part 1. Design Rules'' (ORNL-6930). The rules and the supporting material characterization and modeling efforts described here are the result of a U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Automotive Materials project entitled ''Durability of Lightweight Composite Structures.'' The overall goal of the project is to develop experimentally based, durability-driven design guidelines for automotive structural composites. The project is closely coordinated with the Automotive Composites Consortium (ACC). The initial reference material addressed by the rules and this background report was chosen and supplied by ACC. The material is a structural reaction injection-molded isocyanurate (urethane), reinforced with continuous-strand, swirl-mat, E-glass fibers. This report consists of 16 position papers, each summarizing the observations and results of a key area of investigation carried out to provide the basis for the durability-based design guide. The durability issues addressed include the effects of cyclic and sustained loadings, temperature, automotive fluids, vibrations, and low-energy impacts (e.g., tool drops and roadway kickups) on deformation, strength, and stiffness. The position papers cover these durability issues. Topics include (1) tensile, compressive, shear, and flexural properties; (2) creep and creep rupture; (3) cyclic fatigue; (4) the effects of temperature, environment, and prior loadings; (5) a multiaxial strength criterion; (6) impact damage and damage tolerance design; (7) stress concentrations; (8) a damage-based predictive model for time-dependent deformations; (9) confirmatory subscale component tests; and (10) damage development and growth observations

Multifracture of ceramic composites

This work presents a mechanistic model for the multifracture process of uniaxially reinforced fibrous ceramic composites under monotonically increasing tension parallel to the fiber direction. The model employs an energy criterion to account for the progression of matrix cracks, bridged by intact fibers, and Weibull failure statistics to relate the failure of the fibers. Consideration is given to the interactions between the foregoing failure processes as well as to the effects of various material parameters on the response of the composite