Mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy laminated composites

摘要

The mechanical behavior of quasi-isotropic and unidirectional epoxy-matrix carbon-fiber laminated composites subjected compressive loading at strain rates of 10(sup (minus)3) and 2000 s(sup (minus)1) are described. Failure in the studied composites was dominated by delamination which proceeded by brittle fracture of the epoxy-matrix. The matrix-fiber bonding in these composites is very strong and prevented the occurrence of significant fiber-pullout. The mode I delamination strain energy release rate of the unidirectional composites was determined using the double cantilever beam and hole in plate compression method. The DCB method indicated a significant R curve effect attributed to fiber bridging while the presently available hole in plate analytical methods show questionable validity for highly anisotropic materials.