A constitutive model for self-reinforced ductile polymer composites

Self-reinforced polymer composites are gaining increasing interest due to their higher ductility compared to traditional glass and carbon fibre composites. Here we consider a class of PET composites comprising woven PET fibres in a PET matrix. While there is a significant literature on the development of these materials and their mechanical properties, little progress has been reported on constitutive models for these composites. Here we report the development of an anisotropic visco-plastic constitutive model for PET composites that captures the measured anisotropy, tension/compression asymmetry and ductility. This model is implemented in a commercial finite element package and shown to capture the measured response of PET composite plates and beams in different orientations to a high degree of accuracy.We are grateful to the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Grant Number W91CRB-10-1-005) for the financial support for this research. C. Schneider was funded by the Centre of ECO2 Vehicle Design and the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA). The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the material supplier Comfil.This is the accepted manuscript of a paper published in Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Volume 71, April 2015, Pages 32–39, doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2015.01.003

Optimal fibre architecture of soft-matrix ballistic laminates

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2015.10.012Soft-matrix ballistic laminates (such as those composed of fibres of Ultra High Molecular-Weight Polyethylene, e.g. Dyneema® HB26 and Spectra Shield), find extensive use as catching type armour systems. The relationship between the lay-up of these laminates with respect to the observed failure mechanisms has not been empirically investigated in the open literature, and is the subject of this work. Lay-ups are characterised by two parameters: (i) sequencing (or interply lay-up angle) θ̅ and (ii) in-plane anisotropy β, and can be mapped on to θ̅–β space. Four geometries that lie at the extrema of this parameter space are designed, built and tested. Testing is through ball bearing impact on circular clamped plates. The anisotropy (β) is coupled to the macroscopic response of the plates, whilst sequencing (θ̅) is coupled to the microscopic response. Penetration velocity is strongly affected by pull-out at the boundary, and in the present study this is shown to account for two-thirds of the ballistic resistance. The results have implications for validation testing on scaled samples, predictive modelling and simulation, and armour design.The authors wish to thank DSM Dyneema for supplying material for the construction of laminate plates. Dyneema® is a trademark of DSM. Dr B. P. Russell was supported by a Ministry of Defence / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellowship. The authors are also appreciative of technical insight provided by Dr. O’Masta

Strength of GRP-laminates with multiple fragment damages

SUMMARY The strength of glass fibre reinforced vinyl-ester laminates with multiple holes has been investigated experimentally. Different hole pattern configurations have been tested, primarily for unidirectional laminates. Unidirectional laminates have shown very low notch sensitivity and the laminate failure was governed by two competing failure modes; shear off failure and net section tensile failure

Strength of GRP-laminates with multiple fragment damages

SUMMARY The strength of glass fibre reinforced vinyl-ester laminates with multiple holes has been investigated experimentally. Different hole pattern configurations have been tested, primarily for unidirectional laminates. Unidirectional laminates have shown very low notch sensitivity and the laminate failure was governed by two competing failure modes; shear off failure and net section tensile failure

Compressive response of a 3D non-woven carbon-fibre composite

The compressive response of a three-dimensional (3D) non-interlaced composite comprising three orthogonal sets of carbon fibre tows within an epoxy matrix is analysed. First, the compressive response is measured in three orthogonal directions and the deformation/failure modes analysed by a combination of X-ray tomography and optical microscopy. In contrast to traditional unidirectional and two-dimensional (2D) composites, stable and multiple kinks (some of which zig-zag) form in the tows that are aligned with the compression direction. This results in an overall composite compressive ductility of about 10% for compression in the low fibre volume fraction direction. While the stress for the formation of the first kink is well predicted by a usual micro-buckling analysis, the composite displays a subsequent hardening response associated with formation of multiple kinks. Finite element (FE) calculations are also reported to analyse the compressive response with the individual tows modelled as anisotropic continua via a Hill plasticity model. The FE calculations are in good agreement with the measurements including prediction of multiple kinks that reflect from the surfaces of the tows. The FE calculations demonstrate that the three-dimensionality of the microstructure constrains the kinks and this results in the stable compressive response. In fact, the hardening and peak strength of these composites is not set by the tows in direction of compression, but rather set by the out-of-plane compressive response of the tows perpendicular to the compression direction

Indentation response of a 3D non-woven carbon-fibre composite

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.The indentation response of a 3D noninterlaced composite comprising three sets of orthogonal carbon-fibre tows in an epoxy matrix is investigated. The 3D composites have a near isotropic and ductile indentation response. The deformation mode includes the formation of multiple kinks in the tows aligned with the indentation direction and shearing of the orthogonally oriented tows. Finite element (FE) calculations are also reported wherein tows in one direction are explicitly modeled with the other two sets of orthogonal tows and the matrix pockets treated as an effective homogenous medium. The calculations capture the indentation response in the direction of the explicitly modeled tows with excellent fidelity but under-predict the indentation strength in the other directions. In contrast to anisotropic and brittle laminated composites, 3D noninterlaced composites have a near isotropic and ductile indentation response making them strong candidates for application as materials to resist impact loading