The prevention of kink band formation at free edges of unidirectional composite under compressive load

Guigen Zhang, Robert A. Latour

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Compressive strength of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites is related to many factors such as fiber and matrix constituent properties, interfacial bond properties, specimen geometry, free-edges, fiber waviness, voids, stress concentrations, among others. In this paper, an analytical study has been performed to investigate the effects of free-edges on the compressive strength of a uniaxial composite laminate: matrix nonlinearity and fiber waviness are also incorporated in the model. Results of this study indicate the compressive strength of fibers located along a free-edge is much less than that of internal fibers, implying that compressive failure should be initiated at free-edges, which is in agreement with experimentally observed behavior. Furthermore, also as expected, matrix nonlinearity and initial fiber curvature result in dramatic decreases in compressive strength of free-edge fibers. However, results indicate that, theoretically, a thin layer of matrix placed over free-edge fibers should stabilize the free-edge fibers against microbuckling to the extent that their microbuckling strength is even greater than the internal fibers. This finding may have significant implication for designing composite structures for the support of compressive loads.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2426-2443
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Composite Materials
Volume31
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - 1997

Keywords

  • Compressive strength
  • Edge coating
  • Fiber waviness
  • Free-edges
  • Matrix nonlinearity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ceramics and Composites
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Materials Chemistry

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