The Effect of Biaxial Static Loads on Crack Behavior in Different Composite Material Samples

Abstract

The study of crack propagation and crack behavior in composite materials is an important issue in fracture mechanics. Compact Tension (CT) specimens are made from three different composite materials' forms, fiberglass/polyester, Kevlar/polyester and Hybrid fiberglass/Kevlar/polyester. The specimens are exposed to uniaxial and biaxial static loads for open time. The crack path tracked until deviation from normal direction of crack occurred. It was remarkable that the effect of the biaxial load decreased the static load life of the fiberglass models about 20.7% and 13.5% for the Kevlar models and 9.8% for the Hybrid ones.