| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2024 ASC Technical Conference, US-Japan Joint Symposium, D30 Meeting
|
| Symposium
|
2024 ASC Technical Conference, US-Japan Joint Symposium, D30 Meeting
|
| Presentation Title |
Characterization of Flexure-Induced Through-Thickness Fracture in Tape Laminate Composites Using Ex-Situ Computed Tomography |
| Author(s) |
Garrett MacKay, Michael Czabaj |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Garrett MacKay |
| Abstract Scope |
Recent advancements in finite-element based progressive-damage analysis (PDA) tools have enabled simulation of complex fracture patterns in fiber-reinforced tape-laminate composites, including the evolution of inter- and intra- laminar cracks in various geometries and under different loading conditions. However, despite these advances, experimental data used to quantitatively validate the performance of existing PDA tools remains scarce. This paper presents a redesign of a recently developed vertical flexure (VF) test designed to study the initiation and evolution of inter- and intra- laminar through thickness fracture in tape-laminates. The initial VF test was performed by loading a composite beam in bending via two eccentric compressive loads using screw-actuated clamps. The use of these clamps precluded accurate comparison of the experimentally determined forces and displacements to those obtained from PDA models. In the improved fixture, arms are adhesively bonded to the beams, effectively eliminating unwanted rotations, while improving load transfer. The flexure test is performed until the first indication of specimen fracture, after which the specimen is removed and is scanned ex-situ using X-ray computed tomography (CT) by a Zeiss Xradia Versa 620 3D X-ray microscope/nano-CT scanner. During scanning the specimen is held flexed to facilitate clearer visualization of damage propagation within the laminate. Two different quasi-isotropic composite layups are studied using both static and fatigue loading. The results will include force-displacement plots and graphical maps of internal specimen damage as a function of the applied load and cycle count. These results will contribute to the validation of current and future PDA tools. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Definite: Post-meeting proceedings |