Abstract
As hybrid carbon-aramid composites become widely used in various industries, it has become imperative to mechanically characterize them using accurate methods of measuring the entire deformation field such as the digital image correlation (DIC) method. The accuracy of the numerical simulation of carbon-aramid composite structures depends on the accuracy of the elastic constants. Therefore, the goal of this research is to model and simulate the mechanical behaviour of the composite based on epoxy resin reinforced with carbon-aramid woven fabric by considering the mechanical properties investigated by tensile test combined with DIC and the bending test. The curves of the transverse strains related to the longitudinal strains were investigated using DIC in order to determine the Poisson’s ratios in the case of tensile tests applied in warp or weft directions of the reinforcement fabric. The impact strength determined by Charpy tests is also reported. The other main objective is to use the analytical models to compute the tensile and flexural moduli of elasticity for the fictitious orthotropic materials which behave similarly to the carbon-aramid composite investigated. The simulations regarding the behaviour of the carbon-aramid composite in tensile and bending tests were validated by the experimental results, since the maximum errors recorded between experimental and theoretical results were 0.19% and 0.15% for the equivalent tensile modulus and for the equivalent flexural modulus, respectively.
Highlights
The utilization of natural or synthetic fibres for manufacturing of the composite materials has found significant applications in a variety of fields, such as construction, the automotive industry, the aerospace industry, the shipbuilding industry and the biomedical industry [1,2,3,4]
The main objectives of this research are the following: (i) determination of the mechanical characteristics including Poisson ratio; (ii) applying the analytical models to the moduli of elasticity corresponding to the fictitious orthotropic material which behaves to the carbon-aramid composite investigated; (iii) simulation of the mechanical behaviour by using finite element analysis (FEA) in order to evaluate the equivalent moduli of elasticity of the laminated carbon-aramid composite; (iv) comparison of the results obtained by numerical simulation with the experimental results
Considering the elastic properties obtained in tensile testing of the composite material involved in this research, the terms of the stiffness matrix [ Q] of the composite layer are computed by using Equation (3) both for the case when the length of the flexural specimen is parallel to the warp direction of the reinforcement woven fabric and for the case when the length of the flexural specimen is parallel to the weft direction
Summary
The utilization of natural or synthetic fibres for manufacturing of the composite materials has found significant applications in a variety of fields, such as construction, the automotive industry, the aerospace industry, the shipbuilding industry and the biomedical industry [1,2,3,4]. Parts made of composite materials reinforced with carbon or carbon-aramid fabrics, used in the aerospace industry and in the automotive industry, must be designed and manufactured with high precision [5,6]. Considering the elastic properties of carbon-aramid composite materials, the states of stresses and deformations are frequently simulated in the design stage of the structures made of such materials. It becomes imperative to use analytical calculation models and numerical models to simulate the mechanical behaviour of structures made of carbonaramid composites
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