Authors
Abstract
The fracture behavior of a high silica glass-satin textile fiber reinforced hybrid polymer composite (HPC) under the full range of in-plane loading conditions has been investigated experimentally and numerically. Loading conditions from pure mode- I, through various mixed mode I/II ratios up to pure mode II have been generated by the aid of the proposed compound version of the CTS (compact tension shear) specimen. From the experimentally measured critical loads, the mode I, mode II and the various mixed mode I/II critical stress intensity factors at crack initiation have been determined by the aid of finite element analysis. Based on these results the parameters for a fracture criterion for the composite under consideration have been determined. After testing, both edges of the sample and the fracture surfaces were examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results infer that the ascendancies of Mode-I and Mode –II are highly dependent on loading angle (LA).
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