Dedicated to Prof. Holger Hanselka on the occasion of his 50 th birthday.
H. SchuermannMechanisms are presented which occur in unidirectional fiber reinforced plastics due to fiber fracture and subsequent crack evolution. The 3-point-bending test was chosen as test method and the analyses are predominantly carried out by microscopy. It is shown that the matrix system, the fiber-matrix interface adhesion strength and the fiber volume fraction are of great importance for improving fatigue strength. The results can be transferred directly to high stressed bending structures such as leaf springs.Keywords: Unidirectional fiber reinforced plastics / bending fatigue tests / failure evolution /
IntroductionIn comparison to other materials fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) exhibit outstanding stiffness and strength when stressed in fiber direction. Therefore FRPs are preferred for structures which are predominantly loaded by uniaxial normal stresses, e. g. tension/ compression-rods and slim bending structures such as leaf springs.In the last 15 years intensive research proofed leaf springs made of glass-fiber reinforced epoxies as superior to conventional steel leaf springs [1,2]. The failure developement of FRP leaf springs is known as absolutely forgiving. The high stress gradient in bending and the ply's crack stopper effect restricts the crack initiation to the boundary layers of the spring. In addition the cracks grow very slowly and are particularly detectable visually, Fig. 1. Of special interest is the high weight reduction only by changing the material from steel to fiber reinforced plastics.So a rear-axle spring of a 24t-truck made of steel weights 84 kg, the one made of FRP only 19 kg. This weight reduction of the rear-axle of totally 130 kg is hardly to achieve as simple with another approach.The ecological importance of the FRP-spring is even higher. In 2005 about 2.6 million trucks were registered in Germany. Mounting all these trucks with lightweight FRP leaf springs instead of steel springs would reduce the mass in the range of 52 000 t. Assuming an annual averaged driving performance of 50 000 km and a saving of 1.5 l fuel per 1 t mass-reduction per 100 km, the modification would yield to a fuel-saving of about 39 million litres per year. This is an extensive reduction of CO 2 emission. For this reasons it is indispensable to push ahead this lightweight approach consequently.However, till now the true mechanism of the failure on the micromechanical level, which leads to the good-natured failure, is unknown. The assumption is dominant, only the fatigue behaviour of the fiber counts for this, since the longitudinal load is almost totally born by the fibers. Hence the effect of the matrix on this fatigue case is classified as negligible. But distinct differences in the cyclic strength of the same fiber but different matrixsystems suggest a strong influence of the matrix.In a comprehensive research project of the institute Konstruktiver Leichtbau und Bauweisen at TU Darmstadt the failure mechanism due to cycli...