Composite Reliability Enhancement via Preloading.

Abstract

Many Navy applications of composites, including ships' superstructures, submarine air flasks and missile rocket motor casings, require high strength and reliable materials. Composite strength reliability is dictated by individual fiber breaks at low loads (lower tail) and the accumulation of the fiber failure sites. This study examined the effects of applying a preload to a graphite epoxy composite tow prior to complete polymerization of the matrix. The objective was to break the (inevitable) weak fibers and minimize the effects of the associated stress concentrations, subsequently limiting the clustering of the fiber failures. By eliminating the lower tail, the shape of the Weibull distribution is reduced, thereby enhancing composite reliability. Keywords: Composite materials, Preloading, Integrated fiber testing, Graphite epoxy.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA185938

Entities

People

  • David K. Bell

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Composite Materials
  • Computer Programming
  • Computers
  • Data Acquisition
  • Electron Microscopes
  • Engineering
  • Epoxy Composites
  • Graphitic Materials
  • Materials
  • Materials Testing
  • Measurement
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mechanics
  • National Security
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Tensile Strength
  • Test Methods

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics of Materials.