This paper is devoted to the experimental study of polymeric composite specimens, with various types of reinforcement, in order to evaluate the breaking strength of specimens with open holes when undergoing uniaxial compression and tensile tests. Four types of interlaced 3D woven preforms were considered (orthogonal, orthogonal combined, with pairwise inter-layer reinforcement, and with pairwise inter-layer reinforcement and a longitudinal layer), with a layered preform used for comparison. Tensile tests of solid specimens without a hole, under ASTM D 3039, and of specimens with an open hole, under ASTM D 5766, were carried out using the Instron 5989 universal electromechanical testing system. Movements and strains on the specimen surface were recorded using a Vic-3D contactless optical video system and the digital images correlation method (DIC). For all the series of carbon fiber tension specimens, strain and stress diagrams, mechanical characteristics, and statistical processing for 10 specimens were obtained. The paper evaluated deformation fields for certain points in time; the obtained fields showed an irregular distribution of deformation and dependency on types of reinforcing fibers. A coefficient of strength variation is introduced, which is defined as a ratio of the ultimate stress limits obtained on solid samples with and without open holes. Within the framework of ASTM D 5766, when calculating the ultimate stress, the hole is not taken into account, and the paper shows that for certain structures a hole cannot be excluded. The hole size must not be neglected when calculating the ultimate stress.

Composite structures during an operation are subjected to various types of external loading (impact, vibration, cyclic, etc.), which may lead to a decrease in mechanical properties. Previously, many experimental investigations of the mechanical behavior of composites under uniaxial cyclic loading were carried out. Acquisition of new data on the reduction of composite materials’ mechanical characteristics under conditions of multiaxial cyclic loading, as well as verification of existing models for calculation of the residual properties, are relevant. Therefore, this work is devoted to the experimental investigation of the mechanical behavior of fiberglass tubes under proportional cyclic loading. Static and fatigue tests were carried out under tension with torsion conditions. Inhomogeneous strain fields were obtained using a non-contact optical video system VIC-3D. The structural damage accumulation processes were analyzed by an AMSY-6 acoustic emission signals recording system. Surface defects were determined using a DinoLite microscope. Residual dynamic elastic modules were calculated during fatigue tests, and fatigue sensitivity curves were built. Data was approximated using various models, and their high descriptive capability was revealed. Damage accumulation stages were determined. The dependence of the models’ parameters on a stress state were observed. It was concluded that multiaxial cyclic loading leads to a significant decrease in mechanical properties, which should be taken into account in composite structure design.

The work presents an analysis of the methodical questions of the digital image correlation and acoustic emission application for studying damage accumulation process in composites. The research included tensile mechanical tests on flat samples with a hole. According to the acoustic emission data the localization graphs and the peak amplitude and frequency distributions were plotted. Additionally, the analysis of inhomogeneous deformation fields was made by non-contact three-dimensional digital optical system Vic-3D. The optimal parameters of post processing were selected.

We study the laws determining the mechanical behavior of materials at the postcritical deformation stage. Proportional tension-torsion tests of thin-walled tubular specimens of structural steels were...

In this paper, a novel model is presented to describe the composite mechanical properties degradation during cyclic loading. The model is based on cumulative distribution functions using. Weibull probability distribution law and beta distribution are considered. The dependences of the fatigue sensitivity coefficient on the preliminary cyclic exposure are derived. The damage value function derivative using is proposed to define damage accumulation stages boundaries. Model parameters are obtained using experimental data. Determination coefficients are calculated. A high descriptive capability is noted. Rationality and expediency of using cumulative distribution functions as the approximation of experimental data on mechanical characteristics reduction after preliminary cyclic exposure is concluded.