Fracture Toughness of Single‐Edge Notched Fiber Reinforced Composite

Abstract

This article discusses the tensile, impact, and fracture toughness behavior of unidirectional, chopped, and bidirectional fiber reinforced glass and Kevlar/polyester composite in terms of fiber volume fraction and fiber arrangement. Fracture mechanics analyses based on recently developed conservation laws of solid mechanics were performed to evaluate notch tip stress intensities in the specimens. Influence of different crack lengths (a/w) and crack orientations (θc) on the stress intensity factor are revealed. The results show that the increase of crack length (a/w) maintains a nearly constant stress intensity factor (K IC), whereas the increase of crack orientation decreases the stress intensities factor (K IC). The results of the investigation also show that the tensile strength, impact resistance, and fracture toughness behavior of unidirectional, chopped, and bidirectional fiber reinforced composite increase when the fiber volume fraction increases. Also there is the possibility of establishing empirical relationships between tensile strength, impact resistance, and fracture toughness values. Moreover, the fractures in tensile, impact, and fracture toughness are discussed by photographic and scanning electron microscope.