The propagation characteristics of stress corrosion surface cracks and crac
k growth rates in a range of unidirectional glass/polyester composites expo
sed to 0.6 N dilute HCl acid were examined using a fracture mechanics test.
Glass/polyester composites were produced from continuous rovings using fil
ament winding method. The shallow surface cracks with various a/c and alt r
atios were machined on the specimens and under uniaxial tension were expose
d to one side stress corrosion. The stress intensity factors for glass/poly
ester composites with surface cracks are obtained from Newman-Raju, Nishiok
a, and single edge notch expressions. The material constants, such as A and
n, are related to crack growth rate and the stress intensity factors were
obtained for the test conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.