Failure of woven composites under combined tension-bending loading

This work studied the mechanical performance of GFRP woven composites under combined tension-bending loading. Special fixtures were used to apply the bending moments through offset shims of various thicknesses placed between the specimen and the loading axis. Different experimental setups were performed to determine failure stresses, strains at different locations, out of plane displacement, and stress-strain relation. The experimental results showed that failure occurred near the fixture where maximum bending stress existed. In addition to the experimental study, theoretical analysis and finite element modeling of the specimen and the loading condition were also carried out. The out of plane displacement of the specimen under combined tension-bending loading as determined from the theoretical and finite element model had very good matching with the experimental data. The out of plane deflection of the specimen at the center increased rapidly with loading until it reaches the limiting value, the eccentricity. The stress distribution computed by the finite element model showed that the maximum resultant stress occurred near the fixture, where the failure had been observed experimentally. in addition, the stain computed by the finite element model had very good agreement with the experimental data. Hence, the finite element model is capable of simulating the performance of the composite under different loading conditions. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.