PROGRESSIVE DAMAGE CHARACTERIZATION OF BIAXIAL GLASS FIBER REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES

The objective of the work was to investigate bi-axial characteristics of composite materials with cruciform geometry in both experimental and numerical techniques. The glass reinforced fibers with epoxy composites prepared by hand lay-up technique with various stacking sequences such as 00 /900 , 450 /450 , 150 /750 and 300 /600 . The fabricated composites were machined in cruciform shape, having different notches namely circular, square and rhomboidal according to ASTM – D6856 standard by abrasive water jet machining to ensure dimensional accuracy of ± 0.1mm. The prepared cruciform specimens were tested using a biaxial fixture developed indigenously by taking the specifications of universal testing machine. The Young's modulus, proof stress, ultimate tensile strength and fracture toughness were evaluated for 16 specimens of different fibre orientations and notches using software. The response from the biaxial tensile test showed highest stress developing in [00 /900 ] GFRP composites of 61.37 MPa with highest ultimate tensile strength of 71.93 MPa experimentally. Numerical simulation with ANSYS was showing maximum stresses developing in [00 /900 ] GFRP composites 65.37 MPa.