Investigation of compressive properties of 3D fiber reinforced polymeric (FRP) composites through combined end and shear loading

Abstract

The failure mechanisms and failure stress states of 2D and 3D FRP composite is investigated through experimental work, SEM, finite element analysis and failure theories. In this research work, feasibility of ASTM standard D6641 is investigated for testing of 3D FRP composite. A 3D finite element model is developed in ABAQUS with homogeneous orthotropic laminate to investigate the failure stress state in the gage section of the test specimens. Two failure theories are considered for failure investigation that is fully interactive three dimensional Tasi Wu failure criteria and limit criteria (maximum stress criteria). SEM is carried out to investigate the failure mechanisms and failure location in the specimens. Experimental results shows that the compressive strength of 3D FRP composite is less as compared to 2D FRP composite, also standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variance (COV) of 3D FRP composite is high. This paper highlights the problems associated with the use of ASTM D6641 for 3D FRP composite, and internal failure mechanisms in 3D FRP composite using compression through combine end and shear loading.   Key words: 3D fiber reinforced polymeric (FRP) composites, 2D FRP composite, ASTM D6641, finite element analysis.