Quasi-static Tensile Strength Research Articles

Evaluating the Influence of Tool Material on the Performance of Refill Friction Stir Spot Welds in AA2029

Joining high strength 2xxx series aluminum is known to be complex and difficult; these alloys are traditionally considered non-weldable for fusion welding. This paper describes details on welding AA2029-T8 for skin-stiffened structures using refill friction stir spot welding (RFSSW). RFSSW is a solid-state process invented in the early 2000s that produces spot welds that are strong, lightweight, flush, and hermetic. Cycle times between 1 and 3 s are discussed, and process forces within a range of 8 to 14 kN are demonstrated. Furthermore, lap-shear quasi-static tensile strengths are shown to be between 10 kN and 12 kN in 9 mm diameter spots. A comparison of the performance of RFSSW welds made with various tool materials—which include H13 tool steel, tungsten carbide, and MP159—is detailed. Comparisons of parameters, weld consolidation, and heat-affected zones are presented with discussion related to heat generation specific to each tool material.

Strain rate and size effects on dynamic tensile behaviour of standard and high-strength concrete: An experimental study

The strain rate and specimen size are the main dominant factors affecting the splitting tensile behaviour of concrete. The static size effect is well-known for concrete behaviour, but it needs more knowledge about the dynamic size effect. The present study investigated the strain rate sensitivity and size effect dependency of dynamic tensile behaviour of two different grades of concretes (M35 and M60) using the Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) setup. From the outcomes of the experimental analysis, it was noted that the quasi-static tensile strength underwent a reduction of 8.96% and 11.39% in standard and high-strength concrete, respectively. This decrease occurred as the diameter increased from 29.5 mm to 45 mm, aligning notably with the principles outlined in the "Bazant Size Effect Law," as proposed by Bazant et al. [52]. Whereas, the dynamic tensile strength and DIF increased with increased specimen diameter, which is opposite to the quasi-static size effect. The maximum split tensile strength observed was 18.56 and 19.86 MPa, corresponding to 13.30 and 12.13 s−1 strain rates with 3.69 and 3.51 dynamic increase factor (DIF) for standard (M35) and high-strength concrete (M60), respectively. The dynamic results also demonstrated a size-effect dependency, where larger diameter specimens exhibited higher strain rate sensitivity, leading to increased strength and DIF due to lateral inertial and crack propagation effects. The modified DIF model of CEB-FIP proposed by the Malvar et al. [17] considering the strain rate and size effect simultaneously strongly supported the experimentally obtained DIF values with an ± 13% deviations. In addition, the strain rate significantly influenced the concrete failure pattern, but no size effect was observed. At a low strain rate, the initiated crack propagated towards the loading ends and split the specimen into two semi-cylindrical halves with penetration cracks. While at higher strain rates, additional wedge-shaped crushed regions formed at the loading end due to tensile and shear damage generated due to stress concentration and local crushing. The crack width becomes wider, and the triangular-shaped local crushing zone continuously moves toward the centre of the specimen from both loading ends and generates the crushed strap.

Experimental study on the quasi-static and dynamic tensile behaviour of thermally treated Barakar sandstone in Jharia coal mine fire region, India

In the present study, the effect of mild to high-temperature regimes on the quasi-static and dynamic tensile behaviours of Barakar sandstone from the Jharia coal mine fire region has been experimentally investigated. The experimental work has been performed on Brazilian disk specimens of Barakar sandstone, which are thermally treated up to 800 °C. The quasi-static and dynamic split tensile strength tests were carried out on a servo-controlled universal testing machine and Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB), respectively. Microscopic and mineralogical changes were studied through a petrographic investigation. The experimental results suggest the prevalence of both, static and dynamic loading scenarios after 400 °C. Up to 400 °C, the quasi-static and dynamic tensile strengths increased due to the evaporation of water, which suggests a strengthening effect. However, beyond 400 °C, both strengths decreased significantly as newly formed thermal microcracks became prevalent. The dynamic tensile strength exhibits strain rate sensitivity up to 400 °C, although it shows a marginal decline in this sensitivity beyond this temperature threshold. The Dynamic Increase Factor (DIF) remained constant up to 400 °C and slightly increased after 400 °C. Furthermore, the characteristic strain rate at which the dynamic strength becomes twice the quasi-static strength remains consistent until reaching 400 °C but steadily decreases beyond this temperature. This experimental study represents the first attempt to validate the Kimberley model specifically for thermally treated rocks. Interestingly, the presence of water did not have a significant impact on the failure modes up to 400 °C, as the samples exhibited a dominant tensile failure mode, breaking into two halves with fewer fragments. However, as temperature increased, the failure behaviours became more complex due to the combined influence of thermally induced microcracks and the applied impact load. Cracks initially formed at the centre and subsequently, multiple shear cracks emerged and propagated in the loading direction, resulting in a high degree of fragmentation. This study also demonstrates that shear failure is not solely dependent on the loading rate but can also be influenced by temperature, further affecting the failure mode of the sandstone.

An investigation of fatigue behavior and residual strength model of steel-GFRP composite bar

Steel-fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite bar (SFCB) combines the advantages of corrosion resistance of FRP and good ductility of steel, and is a promising reinforcement material to improve the service life of marine structures. However, the fatigue behavior of SFCB is complex and has not been explored. Therefore, in this study, fatigue tests were conducted at different stress levels (0.32, 0.36, and 0.41 of quasi-static tensile strength with a fixed stress ratio of 0.1) and tensile tests were performed after fatigue pre-damage for a certain number of cycles (25%, 50%, and 75% of the fatigue life) to investigate the fatigue behavior of SFCB. The results show that fatigue failure is caused by steel core fracture, and the FRP layer can improve the fatigue life. Compared with the change of residual strength, the stiffness degradation of SFCB during fatigue loading was not significant. Finally, a residual strength prediction model containing known parameters of the S-N curve is also proposed, which can well predict the residual strength decay of SFCB after fatigue damage. In conclusion, these findings and the proposed residual strength prediction model contribute to the understanding and design of SFCBs.

Integrity evolution during dissimilar welding of TWIP steel

The integrity evolution induced by manufacturing involving dissimilar TWIP and mild steel weld spots was investigated. Focus was given to the effect of manufacturing parametrization on controlling the dilution of the alloying elements and the resulting weld integrity. Samples manufactured with different conditions were characterized by chemical and phase composition, morphology, and mechanical properties. The findings showed that the distribution of chemical composition and metallurgical features are sensitive to the welding parameters. The influence of manufacturing on weld morphology was noticed. Manganese distribution is affected by the welding cycle, thus leading to austenite destabilization and brittle behavior upon a quasi-static tensile shear strength test. A processing set was proposed to control manganese dilution and martensite transformation.

Innovative tensile test for brittle materials: Validation on graphite R4550

This paper proposes an innovative ultrasonic tensile test methodology for the assessment of quasi-static uniaxial mechanical properties and tensile strength of brittle materials. An ultrasonic testing machine, commonly employed for very high cycle fatigue tests, had its control and data acquisition systems adapted to induce specimen failure in about 100 cycles, avoiding cyclic load damage. The mechanical properties are thereafter estimated with a finite element model which simulates the experimental test. The proposed method has been validated by assessing the tensile strength of graphite R4550, characterized by brittle behaviour. The mechanical properties for graphite R4550 estimated with this experimental-numerical approach were found to be close to literature values obtained in different quasi-static testing configurations, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method and the feasibility of employing the ultrasonic fatigue testing machine for studying the behaviour of brittle materials. Furthermore, the proposed methodology eliminated issues caused by mechanical fixtures and tensile testing machine alignment, while also allowing a considerable increase of the material loaded volume when compared to that of traditional test methods. The experimental and numerical approaches are successfully validated on graphite R4550, also highlighting its capability of characterizing the material nonlinear behaviour, including viscoelasticity and asymmetrical response in tension and compression.

Zr-based metallic glasses Hugoniot under laser shock compression and spall strength evolution with the strain rate (> 107 s-1)

We investigate the mechanical response of Zr50Cu40Al10 and Zr60Cu30Al10 metallic glasses under laser shock compression to reproduce hypervelocity impact conditions such as high longitudinal stresses and high strain rates in an unknown range of 106−107s−1. Hugoniot curves and strength parameters (spall strength and strain rate) are obtained from free surface velocity profiles and compared with previous studies on the mechanical behaviour of Zr-based metallic glasses under plate impact experiments. We established Hugoniot curves for both compositions up to 100 GPa, corresponding to a particle velocity of 1.8 km/s, and consistent with literature up to 75 GPa. Concerning the strength parameters, we studied the evolution of the spall strength with the strain rate and obtained data unreached up to now from 1.7×106s−1 to 2.7×107s−1. This range of data correspond to strain rates of hypervelocity impacts of small debris (≈0.1−1mm) on space infrastructure shields. Moreover, we highlight a strong dependency of the spall strength with the strain rate starting from 2×106s−1. Indeed, the spall strength increases from 2.6 GPa, close to its quasi-static tensile strength value, up to 13.6 GPa.

Experimental Study on the Effect of Limestone Powder Content on the Dynamic and Static Mechanical Properties of Seawater Coral Aggregate Concrete (SCAC).

The development of island construction concrete can serve as a basis for the development and utilization of island resources. Complying with the principle of using local materials to configure seawater coral aggregate concrete (SCAC) that is able to meet the requirements of island and reef engineering construction could effectively shorten the construction period and cost of island and reef engineering construction. In this paper, quasi-static mechanical experiments and dynamic mechanical experiments were carried out on SCAC with different limestone powder contents. High-speed photography technology and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) were used to monitor the dynamic failure process and strain field of SCAC, and the influence of limestone powder content on the dynamic and static mechanical properties of SCAC was investigated. The results showed that, when the limestone powder content was 20% and 16%, the quasi-static compressive strength and quasi-static tensile strength exhibited the best improvement. Additionally, with increasing limestone powder content, the dynamic tensile strength of SCAC first showed and increasing trend and then a decreasing trend, reaching its maximum value when the limestone powder content was 16%. Moreover, the maximum strain value of SCAC with the same limestone powder content increased with increasing strain rate grade, showing an obvious effect on strain rate.

Effect of hybrid industrial and recycled steel fibres on static and dynamic mechanical properties of ultra-high performance concrete

Employing recycled tyre steel (RTS) fibres to replace industrial steel (IS) fibres in ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) can improve its cost-effectiveness and sustainability. However, the lack of research on dynamic properties of such sustainable UHPC would hinder its application in concrete structures such as protective and defence structures which may experience different dynamic loadings. This paper experimentally investigates the effect of various RTS fibre replacement levels (0.5–2.0% by volume) on the flowability and quasi-static compressive, flexural and tensile strengths of UHPC as well as the dynamic splitting tensile behaviour under various strain rates (4.5–6.5 s−1). The conventional UHPC with 2.0% IS fibre was prepared as the reference. Results indicate that the flowability of UHPC containing RTS fibres is about 5–11% higher than that of reference UHPC. Rising the RTS fibre replacement level up to 1.0% increases the compressive, flexural and tensile strengths while after which, the strengths drop. The dynamic splitting tensile behaviour of all UHPC specimens is sensitive to strain rate in terms of failure pattern, dynamic splitting tensile strength, dynamic increase factor and energy absorption capacity. Using 0.5% RTS fibre to substitute IS fibre can bring the best synergy, leading to the highest dynamic splitting tensile properties of UHPC at a strain rate of approximately 4.5–6.5 s−1. The material cost, embodied carbon and embodied energy of UHPC are reduced by 9–57% in the presence of RTS fibres. The optimal RTS fibre replacement dosage for UHPC is 0.5% considering static mechanical properties, dynamic splitting tensile behaviour, material cost and environmental impact.

Quasi-static and dynamic Brazilian testing and failure analysis of a deer antler in the transverse to the osteon growth direction

The transverse tensile strength of a naturally fallen red deer antler (Cervus Elaphus) was determined through indirect Brazilian tests using dry disc-shape specimens at quasi-static and high strain rates. Dynamic Brazilian tests were performed in a compression Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar. Quasi-static tensile and indirect Brazilian tests were also performed along the osteon growth direction for comparison. The quasi-static transverse tensile strength ranged 31.5–44.5 MPa. The strength increased to 83 MPa on the average in the dynamic Brazilian tests, proving a rate sensitive transverse strength. The quasi-static tensile strength in the osteon growth direction was however found comparably higher, 192 MPa. A Weibull analysis indicated a higher tensile ductility in the osteon growth direction than in the transverse to the osteon growth direction. The microscopic analysis of the quasi-static Brazilian test specimens (tensile strain along the osteon growth direction) revealed a micro-cracking mechanism operating by the crack deflection/twisting at the lacunae in the concentric lamellae region and at the interface between concentric lamellae and interstitial lamellae. On the other side, the specimens in the transverse direction fractured in a more brittle manner by the separation/delamination of the concentric lamellae and pulling of the interstitial lamellae. The detected increase in the transverse strength in the high strain rate tests was further ascribed to the pull and fracture of the visco-plastic collagen fibers in the interstitial lamellae. This was also confirmed microscopically; the dynamically tested specimens exhibited flatter fracture surfaces.

Quasi-Static and Dynamic Tensile Behavior of Water-Bearing Sandstone Subjected to Microwave Irradiation

Microwave irradiation on rocks before excavation is an effective method to reduce equipment wear and energy consumption during mechanical cutting. Rock mass excavation is usually carried out in a water-rich environment and exposed to dynamic loads, thus understanding the coupled effects of water content and loading rate on the mechanical behavior of rocks under microwave radiation is essential. In this study, sandstone samples with five levels of water content (from oven-dried to water-saturated) were exposed to microwave irradiation at a power of 700 W for 10 min. Brazilian disc tests were conducted on sandstone samples after microwave radiation under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions. Test results revealed that, with the increase of the initial water content, the microwave heating capacity of the rock is significantly improved. The surface temperature of the saturated samples is approximately 1.38 times higher than that of the dry ones. Moreover, weight, P-wave velocity, quasi-static and dynamic tensile strength of the rock decrease, while porosity and damage factor exhibit a similar growth law. Before microwave irradiation, the average value of the P-wave velocity and the quasi-static tensile strength of sandstone were about 2521.3 m·s−1 and 4.65 MPa. However, after microwave treatment, when the initial water content was 2%, 3%, 4% and 5.4%, the P-wave velocity decreased by 6.1%, 9.8%, 16.4% and 30.2%, while that quasi-static tensile strength reduced by 9.2%, 16.7%, 30.6% and 48.9%, respectively. For water-saturated samples under microwave irradiation, the porosity increases from 13.02% to 18.12% (showing an increase of 39.2%), and the damage value rises to 0.51. In addition, the dynamic tensile strength shows a significant loading rate dependence, and as the initial water content increases, also the dynamic increase factor (DIF) increases. At a given loading rate, the energy dissipation decreases with the increase of the initial water content, which indicates that the presence of water cause more significant damage to the rock when subjected to microwave radiation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results indicate that the internal damage of the rock after microwave radiation is dominated by intergranular cracks, and crack density increases with increasing initial water content of the samples. The underlying damage mechanisms of microwave radiation on water-bearing sandstone were interpreted with the theory of pore water pressure and structural thermal stresses.

Investigation of the Mechanical Behaviour of Lingulid Sandstone Emphasising the Influence from Pre-Existing Structural Defects, Part 1: Model Identification Based on Static Experiments

A constitutive model able to describe both tensile damage and plastic deformation under confinement is a prerequisite to numerically simulate the behaviour of sandstone rock under an impact loading induced in a percussive drilling process. Therefore, model identification under both tensile and high confinement states is needed. In the present work, an experimental investigation was carried out in order to determine the mechanical properties of a sandstone rock for the purpose of advanced constitutive model identification. Different testing methods were used in quasistatic and dynamic loading regimes. This first part of the study is dedicated to static experiments, whereby three-point bend tests were first performed to evaluate the quasistatic tensile strength of the rock and its distribution by employing the Weibull statistics. Secondly, direct compression tests were conducted to evaluate the stiffness and strength in an unconfined condition. Afterwards, quasioedometric compression (QOC) tests were carried out in order to obtain the deviatoric and volumetric behaviours of the material as a function of the hydrostatic pressure (up to 375 MPa). In these QOC tests, the metallic confinement cell was instrumented with strain gauges to deduce the state of the stress and strain within the sample. A linear volumetric response along with a continuous increase of strength with the level of hydrostatic pressure was observed. This experimental work points out that, under unconfined loading (three-point bending and uniaxial compression), pre-existing structural defects play a major role leading to a highly scattered behaviour in terms of sample stiffness and ultimate applied load. On the other hand, under high confinement levels (QOC tests), beyond the nonlinear response of the curve foot, the influence from structural defects was observed to be small.

Dynamic tensile and compressive behaviour of AA7475-T7351 alloy under different strain rates and temperatures

The mechanical behaviour of the aluminium alloy AA7475-T7351 under different loading rates and temperatures is investigated in this article. The high strength AA7475-T7351 alloy under consideration, with its quasi-static tensile strength of 560 MPa at room temperature (25 °C), is stronger than most other aluminium alloys. At the beginning, the specimens are evaluated under quasi-static tension and compression along the rolling direction at five different temperatures (25 °C, 100 °C, 150 °C, 200 °C and 250 °C) on a universal testing machine. Thereafter, an extensive experimental study is conducted on the Split Hopkinson pressure bar set up (SHPB) and the tensile Hopkinson bar (SHTB) to study the constitutive behaviour of AA7475-T7351 specimens at higher strain rates (up to +3000 s−1 for tensile and −4400 s−1 for compression) and elevated temperatures. The strength and ductility of AA7475-T7351 are observed to depend on the loading direction (tension/compression), strain rate and temperature. The efficiencies of the two widely used constitutive models (Johnson-Cook and KHL) for predicting the mechanical behaviour of AA7475-T7351 are also examined.

Dynamic splitting behaviour of ultra-high-performance concrete confined with carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer

Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) wrapping is highly effective in enhancing the compressive properties of concrete. However, the dynamic splitting performance of FRP-confined ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) remains unexplored. This study investigated the impact resistance of carbon FRP (CFRP)-confined UHPC under splitting loads. The UHPC cylinders were wrapped in CFRP jackets of thicknesses from one to three plies. Several impact tests were conducted using a Ø100mm split Hopkinson pressure bar apparatus at different strain rates ranging from 2 s−1 to 17 s−1. The dynamic behaviours of the specimens were investigated and compared with those under quasi-static loading. The results indicated that the splitting properties of UHPC exhibited a strong strain-rate dependency; however, the confinement of CFRP reduced the strain-rate sensitivity of UHPC. The rupture of the CFRP following UHPC cracking governed the failure of CFRP-confined UHPC under dynamic splitting loads. Although the quasi-static splitting tensile strength could be improved approximately linearly by the CFRP confinement ratio, the CFRP confinement effect decreased with increasing strain rate. A new model that considers the effects of confinement ratio and core concrete inertia is proposed to predict the splitting tensile strength of CFRP-confined UHPC under impact loading.

Enhanced Strength and Plasticity of CoCrNiAl0.1Si0.1 Medium Entropy Alloy via Deformation Twinning and Microband at Cryogenic Temperature.

The synthesis of lightweight yet strong-ductile materials has been an imperative challenge in alloy design. In this study, the CoCrNi-based medium-entropy alloys (MEAs) with added Al and Si were manufactured by vacuum arc melting furnace subsequently followed by cool rolling and anneal process. The mechanical responses of CoCrNiAl0.1Si0.1 MEAs under quasi-static (1 × 10−3 s−1) tensile strength showed that MEAs had an outstanding balance of yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation were increased from 480 MPa, 900 MPa, and 58% at 298 K to 700 MPa, 1250 MPa, and 72% at 77 K, respectively. Temperature dependencies of the yield strength and strain hardening were investigated to understand the excellent mechanical performance, considering the contribution of lattice distortions, deformation twins, and microbands. Severe lattice distortions were determined to play a predominant role in the temperature-dependent yield stress. The Peierls barrier height increased with decreasing temperature, owing to thermal vibrations causing the effective width of a dislocation core to decrease. Through the thermodynamic formula, the stacking fault energies were calculated to be 14.12 mJ/m2 and 8.32 mJ/m2 at 298 K and 77 K, respectively. In conclusion, the enhanced strength and ductility at cryogenic temperature can be attributed to multiple deformation mechanisms including dislocations, extensive deformation twins, and microbands. The synergistic effect of multiple deformation mechanisms lead to the outstanding mechanical properties of the alloy at room and cryogenic temperature.

Study on Quasi-Static Mechanical Property of SFRSCC

Steel fiber reinforced self-compacting concrete (SFRSCC) inherits the advantages of self-compacting concrete (SCC) characterized by sound fluidity and self-compaction. Meanwhile, the addition of steel fiber has enhanced the roughness and ductility of substratum. This paper designs SCC of two different strength grades, including C40 and C60, and conducts SFRSCC quasi-static mechanical property test and split tensile test. Uniaxial tensile test is carried out through the design of a dedicated damper to obtain SFRSCC quasi-static uniaxial tensile strength and relational expressions about SFRSCC uniaxial tensile strength and eigenvalue of steel fiber content. It is discovered from SFRSCC split tensile test that, for the concrete with strength grade of C40, its split tensile strength rises by about 36% when the fiber content increases from 0.5% to 2%. For the concrete with strength grade of C60, in addition to the concrete with 1% fiber, the overall variation trend of split tensile strength is the same as that of C40 concrete, but the variation range is relatively small. The damage morphology of specimens indicates that steel fiber can effectively improve the tensile strength and roughness of SFRSCC and help it fully take in the energy before being damaged.

Effect of hygrothermal ageing on the mechanical performance of CFRP/AL single-lap joints

ABSTRACT Bonding technology presents several advantages over traditional mechanical connecting methods and, thus, has been widely used in the automotive industry. However, hygrothermal ageing environments may exert a significant degradation effect on the bonding structure during the service of the automobile. This study mainly investigated the effect of hygrothermal ageing on the quasi-static tensile strength of the adhesive layer of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP)-aluminium alloy (AL) single-lap joints (SLJs). A simple method, based on the finite element (FE) model, was used to determine moisture-dependent CZ properties. Numerical simulations of the quasi-static tensile properties of the CFRP/AL SLJs were also conducted, and the simulation results were consistent with the experimental findings. Results indicated that the failure strength of the adhesive and adhesively bonded CFRP/AL SLJs subjected to hygrothermal ageing declines with increasing ageing duration. Moreover, the degradation rate in the initial stages of ageing is significantly higher than that in later stages. Failure of the adhesively bonded CFRP/AL SLJs was characterised by cohesive failure and mixed failure. No carbon fiber delamination was observed in CFRP/AL SLJs following hygrothermal ageing.

Influence of a hybrid combination of steel and polypropylene fibers on concrete toughness

The toughening effect of a hybrid combination of steel and polypropylene fibers on high-strength concrete (HSC) is investigated using bending, quasi-static, and dynamic splitting tensile tests. The bending strength and quasi-static splitting tensile strength of polypropylene-fiber-reinforced HSC improves only when the volume fraction of polypropylene fiber reaches 0.22%. The bending strength of steel-fiber-reinforced HSC is higher still, while its quasi-static splitting tensile strength is slightly lower when the steel fiber volume is higher than 2.0%. When an appropriate amount of steel and polypropylene fibers are employed together in HSC, the bending strength and quasi-static splitting tensile strength increases further. By analyzing the toughness ratio, toughness index, and energy dissipation, it is found that the toughness of HSC can be greatly increased by the introduction of steel fiber, but it is only slightly affected by polypropylene fiber. The toughness of HSC can be further improved by introducing an optimal hybrid combination of steel and polypropylene fibers. Hybrid-fiber- reinforced HSC with 0.12% polypropylene fiber has better bending toughness when the volume fraction of steel fiber reaches 2.0%~3.0%. When 2.5% steel fiber and 0.12% polypropylene fiber are mixed in HSC, the dynamic and quasi-static splitting tensile toughness of hybrid-fiber-reinforced HSC reaches the best.

Effect of graphene oxide surface treatment on the interfacial adhesion and the tensile performance of flax epoxy composites

The high stiffness and damping properties of flax fibres promote the integration of biocomposites in structural applications. However, the strength of flax/epoxy composites is still limited compared to glass/epoxy composites. Graphene oxide (GO) has proved to be a promising building block for nanocomposites due to its high toughness, stiffness and tunable interfacial interactions with polymers. This study aims to understand the potential of GO-based surface treatment of flax fibres to modify the interfacial adhesion and tensile performance of flax fibre/epoxy composites. GO-modification improves the interfacial shear strength of elementary flax fibre/epoxy by 43%. The interfacial improvement is also established by the 40% higher transverse bending strength compared to untreated flax/epoxy composites. The tensile moduli of GO-modified flax/epoxy composites are on average 2 GPa higher than for untreated flax fibre/epoxy composites in all strain ranges. The quasi-static longitudinal tensile strength of unidirectional composites is not affected by GO-modification.

Numerical analysis of high velocity, oblique impacts and residual tensile strength of carbon/epoxy laminates

This paper presents prediction of the high velocity, oblique impact response and quasi-static residual tensile strength of thin [45/90/−45/0]2s carbon/epoxy laminates using finite element (FE) models. A High-Fidelity Finite Element Method (Hi-FEM) with an automated unit cell meshing technique was employed. The predicted impact damage, characterised by the extent of fibre failure and delamination area, was validated against results from gas-gun tests for a range of impact velocities. The numerical results captured the trend of increasing impact damage with impact energy as observed from the tests. Changes in projectile orientation before impact were shown to increase the extent of fibre failure at high impact energies, up by 38% in edge impact cases. The residual tensile strength of the impacted laminates was then investigated, where the numerical results for edge-impacted laminates agreed with the test data within 8%. On the other hand, the residual strength modelling results of centre-impacted laminates were found to be unconservative, mainly due to the extent of fibre failure predicted during impact. Machined notches were also studied for their residual tensile strength in comparison to impact induced damage. The predicted strength of edge-notched laminates was found to be in close agreement with the experimental results for edge-impacted laminates, differing by an average of 9%.