Investigating the in-plane mechanical behavior of single-ply quasi-unidirectional glass fiber/polypropylene composites

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this study was to determine the engineering constants and off-axis tensile stress-strain relation of single-ply quasi-unidirectional (UD) glass fiber (GF)/polypropylene (PP) composites using the new approach. A series of off-axis tensile tests of quasi-UD composites were carried out. In this study, Puck’s interfiber fracture criterion was expanded for the first time to estimate the off-axis tensile stresses of UD composites. With the experimental values, the shear properties were obtained through the curve-fitting methods. Damage mechanisms were demonstrated to evolve with the loading angle. By comparison to experimental data, the Hahn-Tsai equation, together with the transformation equation, was found to be adequate to describe the off-axis tensile stress-strain relation of single-ply quasi-UD GF/PP composites.