Temperature effect on the flexural deformation and strength of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic laminate

Abstract

Tests and numerical analysis were conducted to evaluate the flexural deformation and strength of laminated carbon fiber-reinforced plastic under high temperature conditions. First, a series of four-point bending tests in various temperature conditions was conducted, and the results indicated a remarkable temperature effect on the flexural deformation and strength. At high temperature test conditions, above the glass transition temperature ( Tg) of resin materials, the degradation rate of flexural stiffness and strength abruptly accelerated. The failure mode also changed from de-lamination failure to local buckling failure. Next, finite element analyses using a progressive failure model were performed and compared to the test data. A new damage model considering the Weibull distribution of the composite strength was implemented in the user subroutine of the ABAQUS/standard. It was found that the flexural strength and failure mechanism of laminated carbon fiber-reinforced plastic in various test temperature conditions were well explained and predicted by finite element analysis.