Tensile Fracture Analysis of Polymer Matrix Composites

초록

The tensile failure behavior of glass fiber reinforced epoxy polymer matrix composites (PMCs) was investigated during tensile testing. The PMCs have been used for railway bogie materials application for the purpose of lightweight in bogie. Through tensile testing, the fracture initiated at the epoxy matrix, and the brittle failure mode was observed. In order to monitor tensile damage evolution of PMC sample, a high-speed infrared camera was used to measure surface temperature changes during tensile testing. Through the thermographic image analysis, crack initiation and propagation were qualitatively monitored. Moreover, the microstructural characterization using scanning electron microscope (SEM) was performed to correlate the mechanical failure mode with thermographic results. In this investigation, an IR camera and SEM investigation were used to facilitate a better understanding of damage evolution and failure mode of PMC materials during tensile testing.