The goal of this academic project was to study the effects of different variables on the damage progression around a central hole in carbon fiber composite coupon specimens. The tracked variables included the type of layup, stress ratio, stress levels, and damage mechanisms observed in each specimen. In-situ x-ray of the individual laminates recorded the extent of damage, mostly longitudinal splitting, as a function of the cycle count. The following lay-ups were included in the experiment: [45/90/-45/02/45/02/-45/0]s, [±5/65/(±5)2/-65/±5]s, and [±5/65/(±5)2/-65/5/65]s. More specifically, the objective of this study was to determine the stress levels at which detectable damage started to develop. The researchers chose to apply 50,000 cycles at each stress level and once damage was detected, the stress level was typically raised by 34.5 MPa (5 KSI), and then cycled another 50,000 cycles until damage exceeding 1.27 cm (0.50") in length was observed. Once the damage exceeded 1.27 cm (0.50"), cycling was continued to 1,000,000 cycles. Upon completion of the fatigue cycling, each specimen's residual strength was determined. The damage length versus stress level was plotted as a way to compare damage onset stresses and growth as a function of lay-up and stress ratio.

This thesis investigated the impact performance of CFRP products within the sports industry. The primary aim of this thesis was to evaluate different configurations, matrix system, and technologies to find the best performing solutions for impact. During this work, an extensive literature study was conducted and various solutions were reviewed. Further on, several tubes were manufactured, impacted and put through a 2 point bending test to find out the residual strength. It was found that TeXtreme R fabrics positively affected the impact performance when compared to conventional fabrics and UD depending on the placement location. Thin plies proved to be better than conventional plies. Newer technologies such as CNT stitching requires further investigation before it can be qualitatively assessed.

Laminated carbon/epoxy composite structures are increasingly used in the aerospace industries. Low weight, elastic tailoring, and high durability make the composite materials well suited for replacement of conventional metallic structures. However the difficulty to capture structural failure phenomena is a significant barrier to more extensive use of laminated composites. Predictions are challenging because matrix (resin) dominated failure mechanisms such as delaminations and matrix cracking contribute to the structural failure in addition to fiber-dominated failures. A key to rigorous failure predictions for composites is availability of measurements to quantify structural model parameters including matrix-dominated stress-strain relations and failure criteria. Novel techniques for measurement of nonlinear interlaminar constitutive properties in tape composites have been recently developed at Georgia Institute of Technology. Development of methods for accurate predictions of failure in carbon/epoxy tape laminate configurations with complex lay-ups is the main focus of this work. Failures through delamination and matrix cracking are considered. The first objective of this effort is to implement nonlinear interlaminar shear stress-strain relations for IM7/8552 carbon/epoxy tape in ABAQUS finite element models and validate structural delamination failure predictions with tests. Test data for composite configurations with wavy fibers confirm that nonlinear interlaminar shear stress-strain response enables accurate failure prediction. The problem of the presence of porosity and its influence on failure was noted. The second objective is to assess the ability to simulate initiation and propagation of matrix-ply cracking. Failure models for IM7/8552 carbon/epoxy tape open-hole tensile coupons are built and validated.

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier expérimentalement les deformations de microcapsules dans un écoulement confiné. Les microcapsules sont composées d’albumine du sérum humain avec des concentrations de 5 à 20 [g/100mL]. Leur taille varie de 50 à 1000 [μm]. Les capsules sont injectées dans des écoulements de Poiseuille produits dans des canaux microfluidiques présentant deux sections différentes : circulaire ou carrée.La mesure des caractéristiques géométriques de microcapsules déformées couplée à des simulations numériques mène à la détermination du module de cisaillement surfacique. Cette caractéristique mécanique augmente fortement tant avec la taille qu’avec la concentration en protéine de la capsule, et plus précisément avec le produit de ces deux paramètres.Le fluide est ensemencé avec des microparticules pour mesurer l’écoulement induit par une capsule dans un capillaire cylindrique par la méthode de la vélocimétrie par suivi de particules. Les zones de recirculation et de perturbation sont alors déduites et comparées avec la simulation numérique d’un objet rigide dans un capillaire et présentant le profil donné par les expériences. Finalement un système original de visualisation optique est consacré à l’observation simultanée de la vue de côté et de la vue de face des capsules pour obtenir sa forme entière. Ceux-ci révèlent l’existence des plis tout autour de la membrane des capsules. Le seuil de formation et l’évolution de ces plis sont étudiés en fonction de la vitesse, de la taille et du confinement, dans des canaux de section circulaire ou carrée. / The objective of this thesis is to study experimentally microcapsule deformations in confined flows. The microcapsules are made of cross-linked proteins, the human serum albumin (HSA) with concentrations from 5 to 20 [g/100mL]. Their size vary from 50 to 1000 [μm]. Capsules are injected in Poiseuille flows generated within microfluidics channels with two different cross sections geometries : circular or square.The measurement of geometrical characteristics of deformed microcapsules coupled with numerical simulations leads to the determination of the surface shear modulus. This mechanical characteristic increases strongly with both the size and the protein concentration of the capsule, and more precisely with the product of these two parameters.The flow is seeded with microparticles to measure the induced flow of a capsule in a cylindrical capillary by particle tracking velocimetry. The recirculation and perturbation zones are then deduced and compared with numerical simulation of a rigid body flowing in a capillary. Finally an original system of optical visualization is dedicated to the simultaneous observation of the side and the front view of the capsules to get its whole shape. These reveal radial wrinkles all around capsules membrane. The formation threshold and the evolution of these wrinkles are studied as function of the capsule velocity and size and the confinement within capillaries with circular or square cross–section.