Stress State Analysis of Iosipescu Shear Specimens for Aerogel Composite with Different Properties in Tension and Compression

Abstract The objective of present research is to establish guidelines for preparing shear tests of ceramic-fiber-reinforced aerogel. The aerogel composite prepared by Sol-gel methods exhibits bi-modulus properties under tension and compression loadings. Bi- modulus constitutive model of the aerogel composite was built, and then verified by analysis of bending test. Finite element analysis (FEA) was presented on Iosipescu specimens with different V-notch and Round-notch configurations. Several trends have become evident: stress state of bi-modulus aerogel is different from that of isotropic material; stress concentration is a strong function of V-notch tip radius, and increasing V-notch tip radius can effectively reduce normal stress concentration at notch tips; shear stress distribution in the test region can be modified by varying notch angle when V-notch tip radius≤1.3 mm; increasing the Round-notch radius can also effectively reduce the normal stress concentration at notch tips. Based on these observations, Round-notch specimen seems to be a favorable choice for reducing the normal stress concentration at notch tips, especially the longitudinal tensile stress concentration. Round-notch specimen with r=4 mm is favorable for the uniformly distributed shear stress in the test region. Digital image correlation (DIC) was suggested for shear strain measuring.