Characterizing and Predicting the Effects of Weave Geometry on Mode I Fracture Toughness of Composites

摘要

Characterization of Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness, GI, of unidirectionalcomposite materials is well understood and standardized in ASTM standard D5528.However, many composite structures are made of woven fabrics. Knowledge of theeffects that woven fabrics have on GI is lacking. An approach based on the doublecantilever beam test was developed in this work for characterizing the fractureperformance of non-woven and woven composites. Weaves were all manufactured inhousefor better control over their geometry. The effect of several architectural factorson GI were investigated, such as fibre orientation, yarn width, yarn thickness andstacking configurations of weaves. Results showed that for weaves, GI was mostlyaffected by the bifurcation of the delamination front around yarns and by subsequentyarn bridging. The framework for empirical models was proposed for describing fibrebridging and the effects of weaves on GI.