Abstract
The purpose of the present experimental study is to describe the damage mechanisms occurring in epoxy matrix composites reinforced with hybrid carbon-flax fibres. The samples tested were consist of unidirectional carbon and flax fibre plies with different stacking sequences. Composite laminates were manufactured by hand lay-up process. The specimens were tested under uniaxial tensile loading. The tests carried out were monitored by the acoustic emission (AE) technique. The results obtained during the monotonic tensile tests were analyzed in order to identify the damage mechanisms evolutions. The recorded events were classified with the k-means algorithm which is a statistical multivariable analysis. In addition, it was an unsupervised classification according to temporal descriptors. The percentage of each damage mechanism to the global failure was evaluated by the hits number and the acoustic energy activity. The AE technique was correlated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations to identify the typical damage mechanisms.
Highlights
Researchers have become increasingly interested in the use of bio-based composites
Duc et al [3] studied the mechanical and dynamic properties of glass, flax and carbon fibre composites. They found that flax fibre composites have higher performance for damping behaviour, but poor mechanical properties compared to carbon fibre composites
Five temporal parameters were selected for the classification of the acoustic emission signals: amplitude, rise time, duration, number of counts to peak and energy
Summary
Researchers have become increasingly interested in the use of bio-based composites. Composites reinforced with natural fibres are ecological, biodegradable, their availability is unlimited and they have a relatively interesting specific property. Flax fibre reinforced composites are the most interesting bio-based composites that have been studied. Their mechanical characteristics are the subject of the work of Monti et al [2]. Duc et al [3] studied the mechanical and dynamic properties of glass, flax and carbon fibre composites. They found that flax fibre composites have higher performance for damping behaviour, but poor mechanical properties compared to carbon fibre composites
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