Characterization of Failure Strain In Fiber Reinforced Composites: Under On-Axis and Off-Axis Loading

Muhammad Yasir Khalid,Ans Al Rashid,Fausto Pedro García Márquez,Zia Ullah Arif,Hassan Arshad,Naveed Akram

doi:10.3390/cryst11020216

Abstract

Metals are known for high ductility and have, been used to design and fabricate structural components for many years. However, composite materials are taking over traditional materials owing to their significant mechanical properties. Fiber-reinforced composites exhibit lower ductility and failure strain, resulting in brittle failure, limiting their application where high ductility is desired. In this study, an effort has been made to design, fabricate, and test continuous fiber-reinforced composites with improved ductility. A comparative analysis was performed for optimizing the failure strain of different woven fiber-reinforced composite materials under both on-axis (0°/90°) and off-axis (±45°) loading. The materials include carbon/epoxy, E-glass/epoxy, and jute/epoxy composite. The tests were performed according to ASTM D3039 standard. The strength of all tested composites in on-axis and off-axis loading was obtained from tensile test results. But failure strain was limited in on-axis loading. Interestingly, glass/epoxy composite showed improved failure strain, by 90%, without much loss in tensile strength in off-axis loading than on-axis loading. The jute fiber revealed limited tensile strength and failure strain in both loading conditions.

Highlights

Composite materials have been under investigation since the seventies, especially where a high strength-to-weight ratio is a vital design variable
Because of composite materials’ anisotropic nature, their effectiveness depends on careful design and tailored properties for a particular application [7]
This study aims to fill the gap in lacking knowledge of off-axis loading of natural fibers, such as jute

Summary

Introduction

Composite materials have been under investigation since the seventies, especially where a high strength-to-weight ratio is a vital design variable. Fiber-reinforced composites are remarkably lightweight, possess excellent strength, and are the favored lightweight materials for several industries [1,2] including automobile [3,4] and railroad industries [5]. They can be found in many aircraft structures, such as the Boeing 737, Airbus 325, and F-35 [6]. Materials in structural applications are often exposed to time-dependent and multi-axial loading conditions in many load-bearing applications [8]. Understanding the mechanical behavior of materials/structures at high strain rates and these loading conditions is essential [6,9,10]

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