THE EFFECT OF SUPPORT CONDITIONS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF CFRP PLATES SUBJECTED TO BIAXIAL FLEXURE

A comparative study has been conducted to investigate the performance of rectangular carbon-fibre/epoxy-resin laminated plates subjected to static and cyclic biaxial flexing with two different supporting condit ions, all edges being simply supported or clamped. Damage mechanism st udies, mainly by NDT methods, and experimental mechanical property eva luations were carried out on the plates. Three different geometric asp ect ratios, giving three biaxial stress ratios were studied. It was fo und that the major damage modes were matrix cracking and delamination in both support conditions. This damage initiated at about 20% of the ultimate load-deflection levels in both support conditions, and also d eveloped during fatigue. The amount of damage, as indicated by the are a of damage, was mainly dependent on the load level and support condit ion, but not on the aspect ratio of the plates. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scie nce Ltd. All rights reserved.