No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

A small gas gun, capable of accelerating a projectile 1m long by 25.4mm diameter to about 50 m/s, and an extended split Hopklnson bar apparatus have been designed and constructed for the tensile impact testing of fibre reinforced composite specimens at strain rates of the order of 1000/s. Elastic strain measurements derived from the Hopkinson bar analysis are checked, using strain gauges attached directly to the specimen and the validity of the elastic moduli determined under tensile impact is confirmed. Epoxy specimens reinforced with plain-weave fabrics of either carbon or glass or with several hybrid combinations of the two in various lay-ups, giving five different weight fractions of reinforcement from all-carbon to all-glass, have been tested in tension at three strain rates, nominally, ~10^-3/s, ~10/s and ~10³/s. The effect of both hybrid composition (volume fraction of carbon reinforced plies) and applied strain rate on the tensile modulus, the tensile strength and the strain to fracture is determined and a limited hybrid effect is observed in specimens with a carbon volume fraction in the approximate range 0.6 to 0.7 where, at all three strain rates there is an enhancement of the failure strain over that for the all-carbon plies and an increased failure strength, most marked in the impact tests, over that predicted by the rule of mixtures. The fracture surfaces of specimens are examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy and the failure process in the hybrid composites is related to that found in the all-carbon and the all-glass specimens. The classical laminated plate theory and the Tsai-Wu strength criterion are used to predict the stiffness and strength of the hybrid composites from the elastic and strength properties of the constituent plies. Analytical predictions are in good agreement with experimental measurements.

The objective of this thesis is to verify the assumption of designing the connection as simply supported in a GFRP bonded-bolted framing angle configuration. To achieve this, nine framing angle connection tests were performed. The assumption was found to be valid for the 2 bolt bonded, the 2 bolt unbonded, and the 3 bolt unbonded framing angle connections tested, however, more tests are needed varying different parameters before final conclusions can be reached. Suggestions are made for different areas of possible research into GFRP. / Master of Science

The role of the interphase in fiberglass reinforced composites was studied by a combination of theoretical analysis, mechanical tests, and several high-resolution analytical techniques. The interphase was varied in composition by using epoxy and polyester matrix polymers with and without added coupling agents, as well as four fiber surface modifications. Different coupling agents on the fibers were shown to change the fiber tensile strength markedly. Filament wound unidirectional composites were tested in short beam "shear." Corresponding samples were fabricated by embedding one to seven fibers in the center of polymer dogbone specimens that were tested in tension to determine critical fiber lengths. Those values were used in a new theoretical treatment (that combines stress gradient shear-lag theory with Weibull statistics) to evaluate "interfacial shear strengths". The fact that results did not correlate with the short beam data was examined in detail via a combination of polarized light microscopy, electron microscopy (SEM) and spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA) and mass spectroscopy (SIMS). When the single fiber specimens were unloaded, a residual birefringent zone was measured and correlated with composite properties, as well as with SIMS and SEM analysis that identified changes in the locus of interphase failure. Variations in the interphase had dramatic effects upon composite properties, but it appears ·that there may be an optimum level of fiber-matrix adhesion depending upon the properties of both fiber and matrix. Fiber-fiber interactions were elucidated by combining tensile tests on multiple fiber dogbone specimens with high-resolution analytical techniques. In general, this work exemplifies a multidisciplinary approach that promises to help understand and characterize the structure and properties of the fiber-matrix interphase, and to optimize the properties of composite materials. / Master of Science

A lightweight carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) c-channel beam was previously designed using analytical theory and finite element analysis and subsequently manufactured through a pultrusion process. Physical testing revealed the prototype did not meet the bending and torsional stiffness of the beam model. An investigation revealed that the manufactured prototype had lower fiber content than designed, compacted geometry, an altered ply layup, missing plies, and ply folds. Incorporating these changes into the beam model significantly improved model-experiment agreement. Using what was learned from the initial prototype, several new beam designs were modeled that compare the cost per weight-savings of different composite materials. The results of these models show that fiberglass is not a viable alternative to CFRP when designing for equivalent stiffness. Standard modulus carbon was shown to have slightly lower cost per-weight savings than intermediate modulus carbon, although intermediate modulus carbon saves more weight overall. Core materials, despite potential weight savings, were ruled out as they do not have the crush resistance to handle the likely clamp loads of any attaching bolts. Despite determining the ideal materials, the manufactured cost per weight-savings of the best CFRP beam design was about double the desired target. / Graduation date: 2013 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from Oct. 5, 2012 - Oct. 5, 2014

When using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to model notched composite panels, the values of certain material properties can have a great effect on the outcome of the simulation. Progressive damage modeling is used to model how a composite structure will fail, and how that failure will affect the response of the structure. Many different progressive damage models exist, but the formulation known as Hashin damage is used to model failure in tension and out-of-plane bending in this study. This model has ten different material properties that are used to define the damage response of the material. Each of these material properties must be calculated experimentally in a time consuming and expensive process. A method of determining which properties will have the greatest effect on the model, and therefore, which to spend the most money on accurate tests, is a factorial analysis sensitivity study. Studies of this nature have been used in many different situations regarding material properties testing and optimization. The work presented in this study uses several factorial analysis designs to perform a sensitivity study on the ten Hashin damage parameters in a variety of situations. Five different ply layups are used in modeling specimens that are loaded in tension and out-of-plane bending. The results of this study show that the significant factors depend on the ply layup and loading scenario, but there are generally less than three factors that play a significant role in modeling the failure of the panels. This means that in most cases, rather than spending substantial money on finding ten different material properties, the time and money can be focused on a small subset of the properties, and an accurate model can still be achieved. While the results of the scenarios presented may not apply to all scenarios, the methods presented can be used to perform a similar study in other specific scenarios to find the significant factors for that case. / Graduation date: 2013