Experimental and numerical investigation on the size effect of interlaminar shear strength for thick composites

Ziqing Hao, Xiaoyu Wang, Hongjun Ke, Gaojian Wei, George Kardomateas, Liu Liu*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The study investigates the variation of interlaminar shear properties for unidirectional glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites with different thickness using the short-beam shear (SBS) test in conjunction with DIC. To verify the scaling principle and clarify possible mechanisms of the interlaminar shear strength size effect, the quantitative parameters for characterizing randomly distributed irregular voids are proposed. It is seen that the variation of probability for void characteristics with thickness is one of the mechanisms for the interlaminar shear strength size effect. Furthermore, a micromechanical representative volume element (RVE) model with randomly distributed irregular voids is developed for numerical verication. The analysis indicates that the weakest link is related to not only the void size but also the void irregularity and void concentration. The void concentration has a pronounced negative impact on shear strength due to the intersection of the microcracks around the voids.

Original languageEnglish
Article number118710
JournalComposite Structures
Volume353
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2025

Keywords

  • Interlaminar shear strength
  • Irregular void
  • Scaling principle
  • Thick composites
  • Void concentration

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Experimental and numerical investigation on the size effect of interlaminar shear strength for thick composites'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this

Hao, Z., Wang, X., Ke, H., Wei, G., Kardomateas, G., & Liu, L. (2025). Experimental and numerical investigation on the size effect of interlaminar shear strength for thick composites. Composite Structures, 353, Article 118710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2024.118710