A Comparative Study of the Behavior of CFRP and GFRP Laminates in a Plate Specimen Using Modified Virtual Crack Closure Technique (MVCCT)

Abstract The applications of polymer composites in aircraft industry have exponentially increased in the recent years due to their high strength to weight ratio. Presence of delaminations in composites is inevitable which affects the structural stability due to reduction in structural stiffness and strength. The degradation of a structural component depends on the geometric characteristics of delamination, nature of loading and material characteristics. Damage tolerance study is thus essential to determine the extent of degradation of the structure due to the presence of delamination. The present paper brings about a comparision between the behaviour of a standard plate specimen made up of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) and Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) laminates with circular delaminations of varying diameters and subject to compressive load. A constant compressive load in terms of initial displacements was applied on a quasi-isotropic square plate specimen of dimensions 200 mm x 200 mm with a thickness of 2.88 mm of both CFRP and GFRP configurations. A circular delamination was introduced at the centre of the plate and its diameter and position along the thickness direction were varied and studied. Using ABAQUS codes of practice, Strain Energy Release Rate (SERR) was computed. The principles of Modified Virtual Crack Closure Technique (MVCCT) was used to compute SERR. Delamination propagates when the computed mixed mode energy release rate exceeds the critical value, GC. Depending on the external loading and material properties, Total strain energy release rate, GT (GT=GI+GII+GIII) was used to predict growth of delamination. The onset of delamination growth was determined by plotting the values of (GT/GC) across various delamination sizes along the thickness of the plate and reported.