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Size effect in flexural behaviour of unidirectional GFRP composites

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Abstract

In this paper, the size effect in unidirectional (UD) laminated glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) composites subjected to quasi-static bending loading was investigated: the sensitivity of a specimen’s mechanical behaviour and failure mechanism to its geometry was studied. Composite beams with different numbers of 0° unidirectional plies were tested and their post-deformation structures were analysed microscopically. In the subsequent simulations, the intraply damage was modelled using continuum damage mechanics, implemented as a user-defined VUMAT subroutine in ABAQUS/Explicit, while cohesive zone elements were employed to characterize the delamination between different plies. It was observed that the flexural failure triggered the multiple delaminations; their location was studied. The influence of the size effect on the bending response of the UD composite beams was analysed in depth. The findings of the current study can be used to design modern structures made of composite materials.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, Kuwait, Kuwait

    Murat Demiral

  2. Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, 06050, Turkey

    Ferhat Kadioglu

  3. Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, London, LE11 3TU, UK

    Vadim V. Silberschmidt

Authors
  1. Murat Demiral
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  2. Ferhat Kadioglu
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  3. Vadim V. Silberschmidt
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Correspondence to Murat Demiral.

Additional information

Murat Demiral is an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering Department at the American University of the Middle East, Kuwait. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Loughborough University. His research interests include numerical modelling and analysis of advanced materials including composite materials, adhesives and titanium alloys, small-scale plasticity in crystals, multi-scale modelling of machining process and biomechanics. He is in the Editorial Board member of International Journal of Evolution in Engineering, Management & Science. Dr. Demiral has supervised 10+ M.Sc. and Ph.D. students and co-authored 3 book chapters and more than 40 papers.

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Demiral, M., Kadioglu, F. & Silberschmidt, V.V. Size effect in flexural behaviour of unidirectional GFRP composites. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 5053–5061 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-1109-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-1109-0

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