Transverse tensile characteristics of fiber composites with flexible resins: Theory and test results

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AbstractA theoretical and experimental investigation has been conducted of the transverse tensile properties of flexible‐resin/ glass‐fiber composite lamina. The objective is to increase the elongation at failure of a lamina in a state of transverse tension so that when a lamina is used in a laminate configuration, it does not suffer premature failure (e.g., failure at a lower strain level than that for a lamina in fiber direction tension). We show that the mode of failure in the transverse tensile lamina differs greatly from that in the neat resin. The failure mode in the lamina form is found to be brittle fracture. From this, it follows that the controlling neat resin property is the low elongation modulus rather than the elongation at failure. Significant improvements in the transverse tensile strain at failure were obtained for the flexible‐resin/glass‐fiber systems studied.