INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING Vol. 14, No. 6, pp.

1103-1108 JUNE 2013 / 1103

DOI: 10.1007/s12541-013-0149-0

Prediction of Compressive Strength of CFRP Composite

Structures Using Notch Strength

Sang Soo Ahn1, Suk Woo Hong1, Jae Mean Koo2, and Chang Sung Seok2,#
1 Graduate school of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066, Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon, South Korea, 440-746
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066, Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon, South Korea, 440-746
# Corresponding Author / E-mail: seok@skku.edu, TEL: +82-31-290-7446, FAX: +82-31-290-7482

KEYWORDS: CFRP (Carbon fiber reinforced plastics), Compressive strength, Hole notch, Point stress criterion, Notch strength, C shape structure

Composite materials called CFRP (Carbon fiber reinforced plastics) are widely used in the aerospace industry and other-
related industries like the automobile and in sports. Nowadays, CFRP composite materials are receiving much attention
because of their superior mechanical properties compared to metals and their lightweight, which has contributed to the high
fuel efficiency of structures. However, the compressive strength of composite materials is lower than its tensile strength.
Structures like airplanes and automobile are assembled with components such as bolts, pins, etc. and the strength of these
components, or notches, can degrade. In this study, the compressive strengths of notched flat specimens were compared with
those of unnotched flat specimens through compression tests. Also, the compressive strengths of differently shaped structures
were compared and verified with those of the specimens

Manuscript received: November 9, 2012 / Accepted: March 14, 2013

showing matrix cracking, fiber/matrix debonding, delamination and

NOMENCLATURE
σy : stress of y-axis
R : hole radius
σN : notch strength
σN∞ : infinite notch strength
d0 : characteristic length
Y : correction factor of finite plate
k : shape factor
1. Introduction
Since Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) have excellent
characteristics such as high specific strength and stiffness, and good
corrosion resistance unlike common metals, CFRP have been used to
make various components, from simple components to complex, core
components for a wide range of applications in various industries such
as the aerospace, automobile and railroad industries.1,2,25,26
The failure modes of CFRP are different from those of metals in
that the failures of CFRP occur when a defect grows inside the
material. The failure mechanism of fiber reinforced plastics is complex,
fiber failure.28 So, as to metals, the limitations of evaluations methods
also directly apply to fiber reinforced plastics. Therefore, the behavior
of strength and the variation of fatigue life of CFRPs have been studied
by experiments and analysis such as the finite element method using
damaged fiber reinforced plastics.1,3,4,27
It would be ideal to make structures using all-in-one manufactured
composite material products without cutting and additional processing.
But, the purpose of use, the sizes of structures, and process limitations
make it difficult to manufacture structures without additional
processing. So, multiple components with holes are manufactured, and
they are combined with bolts and pins to make structures by
mechanical combination methods. However, because the components
may have fiber failure and build-up of residual stress, the strength of
the structure can also decrease.5
The researches on the static tensile strength and the prediction of
fatigue life of undamaged CFRP structures and hole-notch-damaged
CFRP structures have been performed to evaluate the safety and
integrity of CFRP structures.6,7 But, generally, the compressive strength
of a CFRP is lower than its tensile strength.
Compression tests to obtain strain-stress or displacement-load data
are difficult to perform on CFRPs because they can buckle. So, various

© KSPE and Springer 2013

 1104 / JUNE 2013 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING Vol. 14, No. 6

jigs and test methods have been suggested by CRAG, ASTM D695, the finite-plate correction factor. Following Tan’s study,16 the
ASTM D3410, ICSTM(Illinois Institute of Technology Research approximate finite width correction factor of a composite material
Institute), and SACMA(the Suppliers of Advanced Composite structure with a circular hole can be obtained by using equation (4)
Materials Associatio++n) Also, various compression test methods,
6 –1
specimen types and jigs that have been suggested by the 3 ( 1 – 2R ⁄ W ) 1 ⎧ 2R ⎫ ∞ ⎧ 2R ⎫
Y = -----------------------------------3- + --- ⎨ ------ M ⎬ ( KT – 3) ⎨ 1 – ⎛ ------ M⎞ ⎬ (4)
ASTM(American Society for Testing and Materials) have been 2 + ( 1 – 2R ⁄ W ) 2 W ⎝ W ⎠⎭
⎩ ⎭ ⎩
compared with those suggested by SACMA to properly select the
compression method with respect to implementation time, cost and where M is expressed by follow equation;
specimen preparation convenience.8-12
3 ( 1 – 2R ⁄ W )
Therefore, in this study, the compressive strengths of notched flat 1 – 8 -----------------------------------3- – 1 – 1
2 2 + ( 1 – 2R ⁄ W)
specimens were compared with those of unnotched flat specimens M = ----------------------------------------------------------------------
2
- (5)
2 ( 2R ⁄ W )
through compression tests. Also, the compressive strengths of
differently shaped structures were compared and verified with those of The notch strength as a function of the thickness of a composite
unnotched and notched flat specimens. material specimen and the hole size were evaluated by Kim and Kim.17
From Kim and Kim’s study,17 Kim, et al.13 suggested a new failure
equation (6) as follows, considering the effects of hole size and
2. Notch Strength and Shape Factor of a Composite specimen width.
Material Structure ∞
σN d0 1 2R m
- , d0 = --- ⎛ ------⎞
------ = -------------------- (6)
σ0 0.2R + d0 k⎝ W ⎠
2.1 Notch strength for a finite plate
Various types of defects occur during a hole drilling process of a The prediction equations (2) and (6) for the strength of an infinite
composite material structure, and these defects can lead to the destruction plate were converted into equations (7) and (9) for that of a finite plate.
of the structure. Also, it has been reported that the strength of a composite The strengths predicted by equations (7) and (9) were compared with
material structure with a hole notch is different from that without a hole the test results.
notch because of the stress concentration around the hole.13
σN 1 2 R -
Whitney and Nuismer14,15 assumed that damage occurs when the -, η = ------------
------ = --- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (7)
σ0 Y 2 + η2 + 3η4 – ( K∞ – 3 ) ( 5η6 – 7η8 ) R + d0
normal stress at a certain distance from the tip of a discontinuity in a T

material is equal to the fracture strength or when the average vertical

14 E × v 3 1
stress is equal to the fracture strength. k = ------ + ⎛ -----------⎞ × ⎛ ----⎞ (8)
W ⎝ G ⎠ ⎝ 3t⎠
Based on this assumption, the failure model equations of the point
stress criterion (PSC) is suggested as follows.
σN 1 d0 m
------ = --- ---------------------, d0 = 1--- ⎛ 2R
------⎞ (9)
σ0 Y 0.2R + d0 k W ⎝ ⎠
σy ( R + d0 ) = σ0 (1)

where d0 and a0 are the characteristic lengths and R is the hole radius. 2.2 Shape factor of ‘C’ shape structure
Also, the PSC is expressed by the following equation (2) from In order to obtain the shape factor of a ‘C’ shaped structure of
vertical stress distribution at the tip of the hole and equation (1);14,15 composite material defined as Figs. 1(a) and (b), finite element analysis
(FEA) was performed using ANSYS and Fig. 2 shows the
∞
σN 2 R configuration of a ‘C’ shaped structure taken from a cylindrical shell
-, η = -------------
------ = ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- (2)
σ0 2 + η2 + 3η4 – ( K∞ – 3 ) ( 5η6 – 7η8 ) R + d0 structure with the 16-ply laminate and a thickness of 3.8 mm. The
T
composition and mechanical properties of the prepreg were shown in
∞ ∞
where σN is the notch strength for an infinite plate and KT is the stress Table 1 and Table 2. Also, the model for the FEA consisted of
concentration factor of an infinite plate, which is expressed by equation (3); approximately 54,000 triangular-type elements and 30,000 nodes.
By using equation (10), the shape factor (k = 1.075) was obtained
E E
KT = 1 + 2 ⎛ -----y – vxy⎞ + -------y-
∞ from the results of FEA.
(3)
⎝ Ex ⎠ Gxy
σstructure
k = ------------------------------
- (10)
σstructure ,74mm
where Ex, Ey, Gxy and υxy are the effective elastic moduli and Poisson’s
ratio of the laminate.
However, the PSC is based on the stress distribution for an infinite 3. Tests and Experimental Results
plate. Therefore, because all the specimens tested have finite widths,
their fracture strengths need to be corrected to obtain their notch 3.1 Material and specimen
strengths for finite widths. A fabric epoxy-carbon fiber prepreg with a thickness of 0.219mm
If σN represents the notch strength for a finite plate, the notch per ply (produced WSN3K, HANKUK CARBON Ltd., KOREA) was
∞
strength for an infinite plate σN can be expressed as YσN, where Y is used in this study, and the fabricated laminate with 16ply had a
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING Vol. 14, No. 6 JUNE 2013 / 1105

Fig. 1 Definition of shape factor

Fig. 3 Shapes of flat specimens

Fig. 2 Configuration of ‘C’ shaped structure

Table 1 Chemical compositions of prepreg (Wt., %)

Fabric Wt., Resin Wt. Resin Content, Total Wt.
(g/m2) (g/m2) (%) (g/m2)
205 148 42 ± 2 353 Fig. 4 Installed flat specimen for test

Table 2 Mechanical properties of prepreg

Ex (GPa) Ey (GPa) υxy Gxy (GPa)
55 55 0.13 4.75

thickness of 3.5 mm. The composition of the prepreg is shown in

Table 1, and the mechanical properties of the fabricated specimens are
shown in Table 2. The laminate was molded for 1 hour at a temperature
of 140oC and pressure of 5.88 Mpa in an Autoclave.
According to the directional angle of the fiber array, the tensile
strength varies. The tensile strength was reported the highest in the 0o/
Fig. 5 Installed structure for test
90o fiber direction about the load line by Kim, et al.18
Therefore, to obtain compressive failure characteristics, specimens
with 0o/90o fiber arrays were selected for this study. Also, specific types having a 250 kN capacity (model AG-25TG, Shimadzu Co.), and all
of specimens were manufactured by a numerical-controlled milling compression tests were performed at 0.3 mm/min at room temperature.
machine with reference to ASTM D695, ASTM D3410,19 ICSTM and A flat specimen installed for a test is shown in Fig. 4, and an installed
SACMA. Fig. 3(a) shows an un-notched flat specimen and Fig. 3(b) ‘C’ shaped structure specimen for a test is shown in Fig. 5. Jigs were
presents the schematics of a notched flat specimen. A hole was made specially made considering the shape of the specimen to prevent
at the center of a specimen, and the diameter of the hole ranged from buckling during the compression test. In the case of a notched structure,
2.5 mm to 12.5 mm, and the specimen width was chosen as 25 mm. the hole diameter was 7.5 mm.
The configuration of ‘C’ shape structure shows in Fig. 2 and the The success of a test was determined based on the failure mode, in
hole diameter was 7.5 mm. accordance with the guidelines presented in ASTM D3410.

3.2 Compression tests 3.3 Test Results

Compression tests were performed for the unnotched and notched Fig. 6 shows the failure mode of a flat specimen of this study. After
flat specimens with various size holes using a universal testing machine the compression tests on the unnotched and notched specimens, the
 1106 / JUNE 2013 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING Vol. 14, No. 6

Fig. 8 Micrograph of specimen after tensile test20

Fig. 6 Failure modes of flat specimens

Fig. 7 Compressive strength according to hole diameter

failure modes of the specimens were compared. The results indicated

21
that the compression tests had been successfully conducted. Fig. 9 Micrographs of specimen after compression test
Based on the test results obtained from the specimens, the strength
ratio of a notched specimen to an unnotched specimen was obtained.
From the compression test results, the change of the compressive
strength according to hole size is shown in Fig. 7. As the hole diameter
increase from 2.5 to 12.5 mm, failure strength decreases. When the
hole diameter increases to 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 mm, compressive
strength decreases by 83.3%, 67.7%, 56.1%, 47.0% and 34.5% Fig. 10 Detailed photograph of flat specimen surface after tensile test
compared with that of the unnotched specimen.
According to the researches of Choi et al.20 and Pinho et al.,21 the
failure characteristics of a composite material under tensile testing are
dominated by the direction of load on the fiber, as shown in Fig. 8.
However, Pinho et al.,21 Rosen22 and Barbero23 reported that matrix
cracking, fiber breaking, kink band and delamination by buckling of
the fiber have caused failures during compression tests, as shown in
Fig. 9.
Figs. 10 and 11 are photographs of the flat specimen surfaces of this
Fig. 11 Detailed photograph of flat specimen surface after compression
study after the tensile and compression tests, which were captured
test
using an optical microscope. The photographs show different fracture
mechanisms.
Fig. 12 shows the failure modes of the structure in this study. In between the failure strength of the unnotched structure and that of the
order to determine the success of the tests, the failure modes of the flat hole-notched structure with a hole notch diameter of 7.5 mm showed
specimens were compared with the guidelines presented by ASTM. that the failure strength of the notched flat specimen decreased by
The compression tests were successful. 37.9%. Also, between the notched flat specimen with hole diameter of
From compression test results, the strength ratio of the hole notched 7.5 mm and the ‘C’ structure with the same hole diameter, the ‘C’
structure to the unnotched structure was obtained. The comparison structure had 21.9% higher strength than the flat specimen.
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRECISION ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING Vol. 14, No. 6
Fig. 12 Hole-notch structure after compression test
Fig. 13 Comparison of test results and predicted lines
Fig. 14 Comparison of predicted result and test results of ‘C’ shaped
structure
4. Discussions
In the case of flat specimen, the characteristic length (d0) by the
PSC was evaluated to be 1.225 mm by equation (7). The constant (m)
for the width of flat specimen was the same as 0.35.24 Also, the
constant (k) reflecting the shape and mechanical properties of a flat
specimen were obtained from equation (8). The characteristic length
(d0) from equation (9) was evaluated to be 0.721 mm.24
For a comparison between equation (7) by PSC and equation (9) by
Kim, et al., the notch compressive strength ratio for a finite plate and
Kim’s test results13 from a tensile test are expressed in Fig. 13.
The difference between the tensile and compression strengths for a
hole-notched specimen is considered to have resulted from different
mechanisms, as described in section 3.3. In this study, the prediction
JUNE 2013 / 1107
equation of compressive strength for specimen obtained like an
equation (11).
σN
------ = 0.98 – 0.053 ( 2R ) (11)
σ0
Equation (11) that gives the strength ratio of the notched flat
specimen to the unnotched specimen was modified to equation (12) by
applying a shape factor (k). And compressive strength was predicted
for the ‘C’ shaped structure with a hole notch (2R = 7.5 mm). Also, the
predicted line by equation (12) and three compression test results of the
composite structure with a hole notch are shown in Fig. 14.
σN
------ = k ( 0.98 – 0.053 ( 2R ) ) (12)
σ0
where k is the shape factor.
In the comparison of the test results with the predicted strength
ratio, the test results had an error of about 1%.
5. Conclusions
The compressive strength of the composite material CFRP was
evaluated, and the results predicted by the PSC equation and Kim’s
equation were compared with the test results for flat specimens and
structures. From this study, the conclusions are as follows:
(1) From the results of compression tests, it was confirmed that the
compressive strength of a notched flat specimen decreases
according to the size of the hole.
(2) Based test and predicted compressive strength ratios of a notched
flat specimen, the notch strength predicted by Kim’s equation was
found to be more conservative than that by the PSC equation.
(3) From finite element analysis, the shape factor of a ‘C’ shaped
structure of a composite material was obtained and the compressive
strength of structure was predicted by applying the strength
prediction equation.
(4) For verifying the predicted compressive strength of a structure,
compression tests were performed using a designed jig, and made to
fit the shape.
(5) The test and the predicted strength ratios showed a deviation of
about 1%.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of
Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST) (No.
2011-0020024 and 2012R1A1A2043624).
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