Experimental investigation of mechanical characteristics of composite plates under tensile loading

Abstract

Expansion of economic development also encourages the need for research, testing and application of new advanced materials. Bearing in mind the development of technology and market dynamics in renewable energy resources, especially wind potential, technology transfer in this field is very significant in all countries where this industry is insufficiently developed. The advancement of wind turbines, as high-tech products and components that require specific high quality characteristics, can influence the modernization of the mechanical industry. For this reason, the development, testing, production and application of advanced highperformance composite materials are of great importance. The work presents the experimental testing and mechanical behaviour of composite structures under tensile loading. Two types of carbon-epoxy plates and two types of glass-epoxy plates, of the same dimensions but different ply lay-up sequences, were prepared and experimentally tested according to the procedure prescribed by the tensile test standard ASTM D3039. The performance of the samples were first simulated in ANSYS software in order to validate and verify the experimental set-up, and then experiments were performed under tensile loading at the universal electromechanical test frame SHIMADZU AGS-X 100 kN. The experimentally obtained modules of elasticity are presented. The measured values are also illustrated graphically in forcedisplacement and stress-strain diagrams. The presented results acquired by this test method are important in order to better understand the behaviour of composite structures under various load cases. The obtained information and performed analysis of the measured parameters can be used in further experimental investigations as well as in different comparative studies of conventional and unconventional empirical methods.