The Effects of Winding Angles and Elevated Temperatures on the Crushing Behaviour of Glass Fibre/Epoxy Composite Pipes

Abstract

The paper discusses the crushing behavior of various winding angles of glass fibre reinforced epoxy (GRE) pipes at elevated temperatures. Two different winding angles of composite pipes were chosen for the study; ± 55°, ± 63°. GRE pipes angled ± 55° and ± 63° are compressed using Universal Testing Machine (UTM) at room temperature and elevated temperatures of 45°C, 65°C, and 95°C according to ASTM D695-10 standard. The temperatures were chosen based on the glass transition temperature (Tg) that was measured earlier. The results show that as the temperature is increased, the compressive strength significantly degraded. This is due to the change in the properties of the GRE pipe from a rigid state to a more rubbery state as the composite pipe reached Tg. GRE pipe with winding angle ± 55° show a higher compressive strength compared to ± 63°.