Experimental Characterization of

Composite Materials

Stephen Lee
Mechanical Property Characterization Testing
Mechanical Property Characterization Testing

 Basic material characterization of continuous fibre composites involves the determination of

the elastic and strength properties of the unidirectional lamina (the building block of a
multidirectional laminate).

 The objective of this task was to provide experimental data to describe unidirectional
(lamina) mechanical properties.

 Tests were conducted to determine the primary tension, compression and shear properties.
The definition of the unidirectional lamina co-ordinates axes1,2 are shown in Fig. 1.

 The test methods used to determine the properties are listed in Table 1. The following
elastic properties are determined: E1, E2, V12, V21 (tensile and compression), G12, the
associated strengths as X1, X2 (tensile and compression) and X12 and the strains are l, 2,
(tensile and compression), and γ12.
Mechanical Property Characterization Testing
Lamina Tensile And Shear Response

 The tensile test method allows the determination of the following properties for the lamina:
– Young’s modulus in the fibre direction or in the 1 direction E1t

– Young’s modulus transverse to the fibre direction or in the 2 direction E2t

– Poisson’s ratio v12, v21

– Ultimate tensile stress and strain in the fibre direction X1t, 1t

– Ultimate tensile stress and strain transverse to the fibre direction X2t, 2t

– Ultimate in-plane shear stress and strain X12, γ12

 The tensile specimens were straight-sided and of constant section with adhesively bonded
end tabs.

 The lamina 0° test specimen was 12.7mm (0.5 in) in width while the lamina 90° was
19.1mm (0.75 in) and the ±45° shear test specimens were 25.4 mm (1 in) in width.

 The overall length of the test section was 152.4mm (6.0 in). The test specimen geometries
are illustrated in Fig. 2.
Lamina Tensile And Shear Response
Lamina Tensile And Shear Response

 Strain gauges or extensometers are mounted on the specimen and monitored during the
test. For the 0° and ±45° shear test specimens, a biaxial gauge was applied to each
specimen, one longitudinal and one transverse to the load direction.

 For the 90° tensile specimen, an extensometer was used to measure the strain in the load
direction, and the strain was not measured perpendicular to the load.

 The tests were performed utilizing wedge friction grips on an Instron Universal testing
machine. The specimens were first aligned in the grips and then tightened in place. Each
specimen was loaded monotonically to failure at a crosshead speed of 0.2mm/min.

 Typical test results for the 0°, 90° tensile and ±45° tensile shear specimen prepared from
four material systems are shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 respectively.

 The relevant standard test method for the 0° and 90° tensile test is ASTM D3039-76 while
the ±45° shear tensile test is ASTM D3518-76.

 A summary of results from tensile tests on the four material systems is given in Table 2.
Lamina Tensile And Shear Response
Lamina Tensile And Shear Response
Lamina Tensile And Shear Response
Lamina Tensile And Shear Response
Longitudinal (0) Tensile Response

 Testing of 0° tensile laminates was quite straightforward. The fracture was rather ‘explosive’
and resulted in almost complete disintegration of test specimens, but an examination of the
fragments revealed that the fracture initiated in the region between the grips of the testing
machine, The scatter in the test data was relatively small.

 The 0° tensile test results indicate that two of the toughened resins were able to translate
the fibre failure strain of 1.6% to the lamina. Since the strength property is fibre dominated,
the unexpected low ultimate strength of American Cyanamid IM6/1806 material may have
been caused by lower quality fibres in that batch of prepreg material or interfacial
debonding which was observed in other failure modes.
Transverse (90) Tensile Response

 All test specimens failed perpendicular to the direction of the applied load and parallel to
the fibre direction. For Narmco T300/5208 and IM6/5245C, the fracture usually occurred
within the gauge length and indicating that the test results are generally acceptable. For the
Hexcel IM6/F584 and American Cyanamid IM6/1806 material systems, most of the failures
initiated in the vicinity of the bonded end tabs. The coefficients of variation are 17.1% and
10.1% respectively which are relatively high.

 There was no obvious reason for the tendency of these failures to have occurred adjacent
to the end tabs. The reported average test results may not represent the optimum
transverse tensile properties of these two material systems, but in view of the test
performance of the other systems, these properties were considered to be valid.
±45 Tensile Shear Tests

 Most of the specimens failed in the vicinity of the bonded end tabs and the failures may
have been initiated by the combination of the Poisson effect and the constraint of end tabs.
This phenomenon is especially pronounced in the toughened resin material systems.
During the testing, audible sounds were heard which indicated initial damage.

 Beyond that region sharp drops in the load curve were observed. Post examination of the
specimens indicated that extensive delamination and interply failure occurred prior to
separation (complete failure).

 Also, high failure shear strains for these material systems were obtained varying from 6.8%
to 9.9%. The ±45° tensile coupons may result in an unrealistically high shear strength due
to the interply failure mechanism of the laminate.
Compressive Response

 The compressive test method determines the following compressive properties:

– Young’s modulus in the fibre direction or in the 1 direction E1c

– Young’s modulus transverse to the fibre direction or in the 2 direction E2c

– Ultimate compressive stress and strain in the fibre direction X1c, 1c

– Ultimate compressive stress and strain transverse to the fibre direction X2c, 2c

 Compressive properties for composite materials are difficult to measure because of the
sensitivities of compressive tests to a range of factors including stress concentration, global
instability and the quality of specimen.

 Many relatively complex loading fixtures and specimen configurations have been
developed. One of the more common test methods, ASTM 3410-75, was used in this study
to measure the longitudinal compressive properties while the Northrop method 2 was used
to measure the transverse compressive properties. The test specimen configurations for
both test methods are illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 respectively.
Compressive Response
Compressive Response
Compressive Response

 The ASTM test method requires extreme precision in mounting the specimen in the fixture.
The specimens were finished by grinding to ensure parallel edges and end tab surfaces. The
edges of the transverse compression specimens were carefully polished and examined to
ensure that there were no visible defects in the edge prior to testing. In this test, end tabs
were not used as the Northrop test fixture did not require them.

 Two biaxial gauges, mounted back-to-back on opposite faces, were bonded to the
longitudinal compression specimens to measure longitudinal and transverse strains to be d
in determining modulus and Poisson’s ratio.

 Two uniaxial strain gauges, mounted back-to- back on opposite faces, were bonded to the
transverse compressive specimen for measuring strain. The crosshead speed of 1 mm min-1
was used. A summary of test results is presented in Table 3.
Compressive Response
Longitudinal Compressive Response

 Typical stress/strain curves for the material systems are illustrated in Fig. 8. The baseline
material T300/5208 specimens generally failed in 0 fibre compression.

 The three toughened resin systems exhibited a mixed-mode of failure consisting of

compression and shear acting predominately on a 45 plane through the laminate thickness.
From back-to-back strain gauge readings, it was observed that strains in the longitudinal
direction usually deviate from each other at a stress level of approximately 70% of the
ultimate strength. This may indicate that the specimens failed by micro buckling or general
buckling (shear mode).

 The compression test method appears to yield consistent data since the coefficients of
variation of the four materials were less than 7.5% which was relatively low. However,
problems with global specimen stability have still restricted the determination of the
potential compressive strength of composite materials. Any problems associated with
specimen stability will affect the compressive strength of composite materials.
Longitudinal Compressive Response
Transverse Compressive Test

 Typical stress/strain responses for this test are illustrated in Fig. 9. The planes of failure in
the specimen are parallel to the fibre direction and are generally at a characteristic angle
through the specimen thickness. On examination this angle was found to be approximately
60° as was also observed by Collings.3

 The fracture surfaces of the baseline material and American Cyanamid specimens
exhibited generally a typical brittle failure mode. For the other two toughened resin
materials, it was observed that some fibres had pulled out from the fracture surfaces. The
coefficients of variation for Narmco IM6/5245C, Narmco T300/5208 and Hexcel IM6/F584
varied from 3.7 to 6.6% which are relatively low, while the coefficient of variation for
American Cyanamid was 20.1% which was high.
Transverse Compressive Test
Toughened Resin Testing

 Application of composite materials to primary structure in aircraft has prompted the search
for toughened materials having improved resistance to impact damage and delamination.
To systematically evaluate the toughness of some newly developed materials NASA and
the aircraft industry in the US has selected and proposed as a standard a set of five tests
for characterizing the toughness of resin matrix carbon fibre composites. The tests are
open-hole tension and compression, edge delamination tension, double cantilever beam
and compression after impact.
– The tests on open-hole specimens produce notch sensitivity data.

– The interlaminar fracture toughness data were the results of tests on edge delamination tension and
double cantilever beam specimens.

– Compression after impact testing was carried out to determine the impact damage behaviour for the
four systems.

 Specimens used in five toughened resin tests and the hot-wet compression test are shown
in Fig. 10.

 The specimen dimensions, ply orientations, required data and each test specimen type are
presented in Table 4.
Toughened Resin Testing
Toughened Resin Testing
Hot-Wet Compression

 The resin properties of composite materials are usually degraded by moisture and
temperature cycling as a result of environmental exposure. Hence, a hot-wet compression
test was included in this work. The specimen configuration and lay-up orientation are listed
in Table 4. Specimens were pre-conditioned in an environmental chamber, the moisture
conditioning was by soaking the specimens in a water bath at 65°C for 4 weeks.

 The elevated temperature test was performed immediately after a specimen was removed
from the heated bath. The test was conducted in an Instron heated chamber. A detailed
description of the test set-up is reported in Reference 7. The test temperature was
maintained at 93±3°C during the test.

 A summary of the test results is presented in Fig. 17. Except for the American Cyanamid
IM6/1806, the hot-wet compressive strengths of the other three material systems were
almost the same.

Reference 7 Gaudert, P.C., Lee, S. and Scott, R.F. ‘Hardware development for hot-wet compressive testing of composite materials’ NA F Report ST-483 (National Research
Council of Canada, Canada, December 1987)
Conclusions

Four material systems were subjected to characterization and toughened resin testing. Based
on the data discussed in this paper, the following conclusions are made concerning testing
techniques and material properties

(1) Longitudinal 0° tension and compression tests are respectively the fibre-dominated and
matrix- dominated properties test methods of the current characterization tests. These two
test methods appear to be viable and provide consistent data.

(2) Transverse 90° tension and compression tests are informative, but results are often difficult
to interpret. Extra care must he taken to prepare the specimens and conduct the tests.

(3) The ±45° tensile shear test is one of the well-known test methods for determining the in-
plane shear properties of composite material. The specimen is easy to prepare and is
tested in a conventional tensile manner and requires simple data reduction. However, the
±45° tensile coupon may result in an unrealistically high shear strength and strain due to the
interply failure mechanism of the laminate.
Conclusions

(4) Toughened resins reinforced with high strain fibres give improved ultimate strengths in open-
hole tension specimens when compared to the baseline material, while the ultimate
strengths of open-hole compression specimens are not improved significantly and the
failure mechanism appears to be complex.

(5) The edge delamination specimen is easy to prepare and simple to test. However, the
specimen delamination involves a mixed mode failure (Mode I and II), and the analysis of
test data is tedious.

(6) Toughened resin material systems reinforced with high strain fibres improve compression
strength after impact by resisting the growth of delamination.

(7) Double-cantilever-beam specimens delaminate under Mode I loading. This test method is
suitable for determining interlaminar fracture toughness GIC. However, fibre bridging in
toughened resin systems may provide unrealistically high GIC.
Conclusions

(8) The hot-wet compression specimens tended to end-broom which poses problems for
determining the ultimate compressive strength. The ASTM D695 test fixture requires
modification to reduce this effect.

The overall performance of the three toughened resin systems reinforced with high strain-to-
failure carbon fibres was better than that of the baseline Narmco T300/5208 in terms of
mechanical properties. The strength and strain-to-failure in tension, compression (n shear and
toughness properties were higher in almost every case for the Narmco IM6/5245C and Hexcel
IM6/F584. The American Cyanamid, although performing better than the Narmco T300/5208,
exhibited much lower strengths and strain-to-failure than the other systems.
Fracture Surface Characteristics of Compressive Failures in Carbon
Fibre Reinforced Epoxy Laminate Subjected to Hot/Wet Conditioning

S. Lee, P.C. Gaudert and R.F. Scott

Structures and Materials Laboratory

Institute for Aerospace Research

National Research Council

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6

Compressive Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Epoxy Laminate Subjected to Hot-wet Conditioning

 Outlines
– Introduction

– New test fixture

– Conditioning

– Tests results

– Macrographic observations

– Discussion on fractographic observations

– conclusions
Compressive Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Epoxy Laminate Subjected to Hot-wet Conditioning

 Introduction

– Epoxy resins absorb moisture from high humidity environment

 Causes a slight swelling

 Lowers the resin’s glass transition temperature

– Composite properties such as compression strength, which are matrix dominated, can
be affected by moisture uptake and this can reduce the maximum permissible service
temperature.

– The carbon fibre/epoxy composite material investigated in this study was Hercules
AS4/3501-6.
Compressive Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Epoxy Laminate Subjected to Hot-wet Conditioning
Compressive Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Epoxy Laminate Subjected to Hot-wet Conditioning
Compressive Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Epoxy Laminate Subjected to Hot-wet Conditioning
Compressive Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Epoxy Laminate Subjected to Hot-wet Conditioning

 Development of a new test fixture

– Background
 End-brooming (ASTM D695)

– New fixture
 End loading to prevent slippage at high loads.

 Linear bearings to maintain alignment and resist lateral motion of the fixture.

 Eliminate the end-brooming problem and frictional load of the fixture.

Compressive Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Epoxy Laminate Subjected to Hot-wet Conditioning
Compressive Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced
Epoxy Laminate Subjected to Hot-wet Conditioning