A Comparative Study of the Behavior of Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polyester Composite Laminates Under Static Loading

Abstract

Glass fiber-reinforced polyester matrix composites are increasingly used because of their many advantages, namely, lightness, cost, strength, and ease of processing. Thus, they can meet sometimes special needs that conventional materials cannot meet. Nevertheless, their properties depend on the nature of the plies used, e.g. UD, mat, woven, and the stacking sequence. This work aims to study the mechanical behavior of several composites stratified under static loading and to identify the different modes of damage leading to rupture. This paper mainly studies the influence of the shape of the reinforcement on rigidity and static behavior. In addition, we are interested in the evolution of shear stress as a function of the distance between supports.