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Effects of Weave Styles and Crimp Gradients in Woven Kevlar/Epoxy Composites

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Abstract

This research investigates the effects of weave styles and crimp gradients (CGs) on the damage tolerance levels and energy absorption capacities of woven fabric reinforced polymer (WFRP) composites. A comparative study was conducted to determine the specific failure mechanisms including fiber/matrix cohesive failures, matrix cracking, fiber breakage and fiber buckling resulting from static and dynamic loading events. The tests included flexure, short beam shear, drop impact, flexure-after-impact, ballistic impact, and split Hopkinson compression bar (SHCB) and were performed on 20-ply Kevlar/epoxy WFRP laminates. Laminates of three different Kevlar fabric weave styles were fabricated using plain, 2 × 2 twill and 4H satin weaves. A fourth laminate was constructed having a mixture of weave styles forming a hybrid crimp gradient construction. The experimental results demonstrated (1) that weave style selections and CGs can positively influence the spatial and temporal distributions of stress resulting from severe loading events and (2) that the fiber/matrix cohesive zone stresses that often lead to delaminations can be reduced. Accordingly, the dependence of mechanical performance on weave styles, crimp contents, and CGs can be exploited to increase the damage tolerance levels and energy absorption capacities in WFRP composites.

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Acknowledgments

The author gratefully acknowledges the funding support by NUWC Division Newport’s Chief Technology Office (Neil Dubois) and the Office of Naval Research. Special thanks are given to Martin Leff of NUWC Division Newport and to Dr. Arun Shukla of the University of Rhode Island and his students for their experimental support. Special thanks are also given to JPS Composite Materials Inc. for providing the Kevlar woven fabrics and technical data and to Core Composites Inc. for fabricating the composite laminates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Mechanics of Advanced Structures & Materials Team (Code 7023), 1176 Howell Street, Newport, RI, 02841, USA

    P. V. Cavallaro

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  1. P. V. Cavallaro
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Correspondence to P. V. Cavallaro.

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Cavallaro, P.V. Effects of Weave Styles and Crimp Gradients in Woven Kevlar/Epoxy Composites. Exp Mech 56, 617–635 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-015-0075-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-015-0075-4

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