Effect of fibers configuration and thickness on tensile behavior of GFRP laminates subjected to elevated temperatures

Abstract

This study was aimed at gaining an improved understanding of the behavior of glass fiber-reinforced polymer laminates at elevated temperatures by means of testing laminate specimens with unidirectional, woven, and randomly distributed (chopped strand mat) fibers. The testing parameters were temperature, the type of fiber, and the thickness of the laminates. The failure modes of the specimens and their elasticity moduli at ambient temperature were investigated, and analysis of variance was conducted to determine the contribution of each parameter to the behavioral test results. The findings showed that among the parameters, an increase in temperature exerted the strongest effect on the specimens. The unidirectional laminate specimens exhibited the best performance, maintaining nearly 40% of their loading capacity at 550 °C. At this temperature, the woven laminate specimens could not carry any tensile load, and at 400 °C, the laminate specimens containing randomly distributed fibers lost all their strength.