Numerical and Experimental Investigation on I-type Damage Evolution in Glass Fiber Reinforced Laminates Subjected to Quasi Static Loading

Abstract

Glass fiber reinforced polymer composites has become more popular material used in aerospace and marine structural applications due to their specific strength and anti-corrosion properties. The present work discusses the numerical and experimental investigation on I-type damage evaluation in glass fiber reinforced laminates under quasi-static loading is presented. Three volume fraction of glass and resin (40/60, 50/50 and 60/40) plies were selected for both numerical and experimental damage analysis. The damage analysis was conducted for double cantilever beam as per ASTM standard using a universal testing machine.  The J-integral method of numerical investigation carried out by virtual crack closure technique and cohesive zone modelling.  The fracture toughness has increased with the resin content and dependent on the ductility caused at the crack tip due to the plastic zone around the crack tip.  The numerical results were found to possess good agreement with the experimental values.

Cite this Article
Nikhil Rangaswamy, Shivakumar S, Kallol Anupama N. Numerical and Experimental Investigation on I-Type Damage Evolution in Glass Fiber Reinforced Laminates Subjected to Quasi Static Loading. Emerging Trends in Chemical Engineering. 2017; 4(3): 27–33p.