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Ishai, O.

Publications and source records attributed to Ishai, O..

Composite sandwich construction with syntactic foam core - A practical assessment of post-impact damage and residual strength

An account is given of an inspection method that has been successfully used to assess the postimpact damage and residual strength of syntactic (glass microspheres in epoxy matrix) foam-core sandwich panels with hybrid (carbon and glass fiber-reinforced) composite skins, which inherently possess high damage tolerance. SEM establishes that the crushing of the microspheres is responsible for the absorption of most of the impact energy. Damage tolerance is a function of the localization of damage by that high impact energy absorption.

Hiel, C.↗

Hygrothermal effects on the mechanical behaviour of graphite fibre-reinforced epoxy laminates beyond initial failure

The critical load levels and associated cracking beyond which a multidirectional laminate can be considered as structurally failed has been determined by loading graphite fiber-reinforced epoxy laminates to different strain levels up to ultimate failure. Transverse matrix cracking was monitored by acoustic and optical methods. The residual stiffness and strength parallel and perpendicular to the cracks were determined and related to the environmental/loading history. Within the range of experimental conditions studied, it is concluded that the transverse cracking process does not have a crucial effect on the structural performance of multidirectional composite laminates.

Ishai, O.↗

Hygrothermal influence on delamination behavior of graphite/epoxy laminates

The hygrothermal effect on the fracture behavior of graphite-epoxy laminates was investigated to develop a methodology for damage tolerance predictions in advanced composite materials. Several T300/934 laminates were tested using a number of specimen configurations to evaluate the effects of temperature and humidity on delamination fracture toughness under mode 1 and mode 2 loading. It is indicated that moisture has a slightly beneficial influence on fracture toughness or critical strain energy release rate during mode 1 delamination, but has a slightly deleterious effect on mode 2 delamination, and mode 1 transverse cracking. The failed specimens are examined by SEM and topographical differences due to fracture modes are identified. It is concluded that the effect of moisture on fracture topography can not be distinguished.

Garg, A.↗

Hygrothermal effects on mechanical behavior of graphite/epoxy laminates beyond initial failure

An investigation was conducted to determine the critical load levels and associated cracking beyond which a multidirectional laminate can be considered as structurally failed. Graphite/epoxy laminates were loaded to different strain levels up to ultimate failure. Transverse matrix cracking was monitored by acoustic and optical methods. Residual stiffness and strength that were parallel and perpendicular to the cracks were determined and related to the environmental/loading history. Results indicate that cracking density in the transverse layers has no major effect on laminate residual properties as long as the angle ply layers retain their structural integrity. Exposure to hot water revealed that cracking had only a small effect on absorption and reduced swelling when these specimens were compared with uncracked specimens. Cracked, moist specimens showed a moderate reduction in strength when compared with their uncracked counterparts. Within the range of environmental/loading conditions of the present study, it is concluded that the transverse cracking process is not crucial in its effect on the structural performance of multidirectional composite laminates.

Ishai, O.↗

Hygrothermal influence on delamination behavior of graphite/epoxy laminates

The hygrothermal effect on the fracture behavior of graphite-epoxy laminates was investigated to develop a methodology for damage tolerance predictions in advanced composite materials. Several T300/934 laminates were tested using a number of specimen configurations to evaluate the effects of temperature and humidity on delamination fracture toughness under mode 1 and mode 2 loading. It is indicated that moisture has a slightly beneficial influence on fracture toughness or critical strain energy release rate during mode 1 delamination, but has a slightly deleterious effect on mode 2 delamination and mode 1 transverse cracking. The failed specimens are examined by SEM and topographical differences due to fracture modes are identified. It is concluded that the effect of moisture on fracture topography can not be distinguished.

Garg, A.↗

Hygrothermal effects on stresses and deformations in a bonded fiber-reinforced plastic/aluminum system

The hygrothermal effect on time dependent mechanical behavior of a model of nonsymmetrical bonded fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP)/aluminum system was investigated analytically. It was found that a linear viscoelastic closed form solution is sufficient for the prediction model deformations for short periods of time and small strains, while a numerical finite-element solution is preferable for determining adhesive stresses and deformational behavior of the model at any time. The thermoelastic numerical solution shows a certain decrease with time of adhesive stresses, which does not seem to affect significantly the global deformations of the model. On the other hand, it was found that the presence of moisture within the polymeric adhesive layer causes significant decrease in adhesive stresses, which affects deformational changes with time, far beyond the level predicted by the static solution.

Yaniv, G.↗

Characterization of delamination and transverse cracking in graphite/epoxy laminates by acoustic emission

Efforts to characterize and differentiate between two major failure processes in graphite/epoxy composites - transverse cracking and Mode I delamination - are described. Representative laminates were tested in uniaxial tension and flexure. The failure processes were monitored and identified by acoustic emission (AE). The effect of moisture on AE was also investigated. Each damage process was found to have a distinctive AE output that is significantly affected by moisture conditions. It is concluded that AE can serve as a useful tool for detecting and identifying failure modes in composite structures in laboratory and in service environments.

Garg, A.↗