Abstract. Laminates of fiber reinforced polymer composites are good in in-plane properties and inherently weak in through thickness direction. To address this through thickness properties, the inter-laminar fracture toughness (G Ic and G IIc ) of a unidirectional (UD) Glass epoxy composite laminates were subjected to Mode-I and Mode-II loadings. Experiments were conducted using Double cantilever beam (DCB) and End notch flexure (ENF) specimens with varying pre-crack lengths. Mode I energy release rate (G Ic ) were also evaluated with modified beam and modified compliance theories. The experimental results reveal that, G Ic fracture toughness increases with increasing in pre-crack length, where as in G IIc the effect of increase in pre-crack length exhibits reduced fracture toughness.
In this paper, the macro and micro-mechanical fracture behavior was studied for aluminum (Al6061) alloy matrix, reinforced with various proportions of TiC particles such as 3wt%, 5wt% and 7wt%. The Al6061-TiC metal matrix composites were produced by stir casting method to ensure uniform distribution of the TiC particulates in the Al matrix. The compact tension (CT) specimens were machined according to ASTM E399 specifications to evaluate the fracture toughness for Al6061-TiC metal matrix composites. The CT specimens were machined for crack to width (a/W) ratio of 0.5 and thickness to width (B/W) ratios of 0.2 to 0.7 with an increment of 0.1. Load versus crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) data was plotted to estimate stress intensity factor KQ for various thicknesses of the specimen. The fracture toughness KIC was obtained by plotting stress intensity factor versus thickness to width ratios of specimen data. The fracture toughness of these composites varied between 16.4-19.2 MPa√m. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) studies was made on the fractured surface of the specimens to understand the micro-mechanisms of failure involved in these composites. Void initiation is more significant in the matrix near the interface. The micro-cracks grow from these micro-voids and crack propagates by linking these micro cracks locating the crack path preferentially in the matrix adjacent to the interface indicating ductile fracture.
Studies on crack-tip plastic zones are of fundamental importance in describing the process of failure and in formulating various fracture criteria. Minimum plastic zone radius (MPZR) theory is widely used in prediction of crack initiation angle in mixed mode fracture analysis of engineering materials. In this study, shape and size of mixed mode (I/II) crack-tip plastic zones have been estimated by finite element analysis in a four point bend specimen according to von Mises yield criteria. The results obtained are used to analyze the MPZR criterion with respect to the effective stress intensity factor (K eff ) and elastic mode mixity (M e ).Keywords: minimum plastic zone radius, mixed mode I/II, finite element analysis, mode mixity, four point bend specimen.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.