Effect of stacking sequence on the flexural properties of carbon and glass fibre-reinforced hybrid composites

Abstract

A study on the flexural properties of carbon and glass fibre-reinforced epoxy hybrid composites is presented in this paper. For the purpose of understanding the effect of stacking sequence on the flexural properties, test specimens of both glass/carbon and sandwich stacking sequences were studied both experimentally and by simulation. The experimental flexural properties were obtained by three-point bend test in accordance with ASTM D7264/D7264M-15. Simulation was achieved with the aid of finite element analysis (FEA) and classical lamination theory (CLT). From the experimental and simulation results, it is concluded that for the hybrid composites with glass/carbon stacking sequences, when glass/epoxy laminas are placed on the compressive face, positive hybrid effects are present. When glass/epoxy laminas are placed on the tensile face, the hybrid effect is dominantly negative. For the sandwich-type hybrid composites, carbon/epoxy laminas should be the skin and glass/epoxy laminas should be the core.

Impact and Flexural Properties Studies on Carbon Fiber Reinforced Epoxy/Polycarbonate Hybrid Laminates with Different Stacking Sequence

“…In addition, the stacking sequence is found to affect the mechanical properties of hybrid laminates. [29][30][31][32] Compared with other hybrid laminates, Epoxy-PC and Epoxy-PC-Epoxy laminates (dotted lines in Figure 3a,b) have a higher slope and the flexural stress can reach the peak stress smoothly, like the flexural properties of the CF/Epoxy laminates. However, for the PC-Epoxy and PC-Epoxy-PC laminates (solid line curves in Figure 3a,b), there are obvious failure points in the stress hardening stage as shown in the dotted circles.…”

“…Hybrid laminates in different stacking sequences will exhibit different failure forms when bent. [31,33,34] Except for the Epoxy-PC-Epoxy laminates, the other hybrid laminates show typical flexural failure mode, with compression at the top and tension at the bottom. The phenomenon of delamination failure is basically invisible.…”

Short Beam Shear Behavior and Failure Characterization of Hybrid 3D Braided Composites Structure with X-ray Micro-Computed Tomography

“…In Figure 8 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 , the major failure modes of the specimens under transverse shear loading are kink band under the loading head, matrix cracking, debonding and delamination of the fiber–matrix interface, and fiber bundle fracture. The kink band is formed by the dislocation of the fiber and the degradation of the matrix under shear action, and the cracking of the fiber bundle is caused by bottom tension [ 38 ]. The tip of the crack is the stress concentration point, which promotes the development of the crack in the matrix.…”

Gradual failure in high-performance unidirectional thin-ply carbon/glass hybrid composites under bending

“…Most of the research has concentrated on preventing failure initiation, maximising the flexural strength and modulus in both unidirectional and multidirectional hybrid composites by optimising stacking configurations [21][22][23][24]. Different works [25][26][27][28] have demonstrated that the stacking sequence plays an important role in the performance of glass/carbon hybrid composites under bending conditions. Unsymmetrical layups yield the highest flexural strength when the glass layers are placed on the compressive side [25,26,28].…”

“…Different works [25][26][27][28] have demonstrated that the stacking sequence plays an important role in the performance of glass/carbon hybrid composites under bending conditions. Unsymmetrical layups yield the highest flexural strength when the glass layers are placed on the compressive side [25,26,28]. Replacing lower elongation carbon fibres with higher elongation glass fibres in compression improves the overall flexural performance of the composites and delays compressive failure mechanisms.…”