Indian Journal of Engineering & Materials Sciences

Vol. 20, August 2013, pp. 299-309

Tensile, compressive and shear properties of unidirectional glass/epoxy

composites subjected to mechanical loading and low temperature services
Mohammad A Torabizadeh*
University of Applied Science and Technology, Mashhad, 91735-613, Iran

Received 6 February 2012; accepted 6 February 2013

Composite materials are subjected to low temperatures in service and this has induced the need for a proper knowledge
of low temperature behavior of composites. Most of the research in this field is focused on applying different types of
loading and laminated configurations. This paper discusses the experimental study on the tensile, compressive and in-plane
shear behavior of unidirectional (UD) glass fiber reinforced polymeric composite under static and low temperature loading
conditions. Since UD composite is the basic building block of a composite structure and can be used to make general
laminates. In order to fully characterize UD laminate, several experimental tests are performed using an environmental test
chamber and a universal testing machine. Thermo-mechanical loads are applied to glass/epoxy unidirectional laminates at
room temperature (25C), -20C and -60C. The results of the present study indicate that low temperatures have a
significant effect on composite failure mode. It is also found that the strength and modulus of UD composites both increased
with decreasing the temperature in all cases including tensile, compressive and shear loads. On the other hand, the results
show that strain to failure decreased by decreasing the temperature.

Keywords: Mechanical characterization, Glass/epoxy composites, Low temperature

The desire for lower production costs and higher
production rates in high-volume markets such as the
aircraft and construction industries, combined with
the possibility of fast molding processes, high damage
tolerance (especially at sub-zero temperatures) and
high chemical and environmental resistance make
fiber reinforced composites as very attractive
materials. Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP)
laminates are candidate materials for the insulation of
superconducting magnetic coils in future fusion
reactors. The study of composite laminates actually
involves many topics, such as manufacturing
processes, anisotropic elasticity, micromechanics, and
fracture and damage mechanics. Residual thermal
stresses develop in these materials when they are
exposed to low temperatures (below 0C). These
stresses are the result of a difference in the
coefficients of thermal expansions (CTEs) between
the reinforcement and the matrix. The non-zero state
of residual thermal stresses at cryogenic temperatures
is the underlying cause of micro cracking in
composites, and the micro-cracks could have an
important influence on their performance. To secure
the structural integrity of composite structures at
while the decreasing rate of strength was reduced
*E-mail: torabizadeh@yahoo.com
low temperatures, understanding of the thermo-
mechanical behavior of glass/epoxy laminates at
low temperatures is of great importance.
Takeda et al.1 examined the thermo-mechanical
behavior of cracked G-11 woven glass/epoxy laminates
with temperature-dependent material properties under
tension at cryogenic temperatures. They found that
residual thermal stresses have no significant effect on
Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio of G-11 woven
laminates. In contrast, the effect of residual thermal
stresses on the stress distributions near the crack fronts
is more pronounced with decreasing of the
temperature. Kim et al.2 studied the tensile properties
of a T700/epoxy composite, which had been cycled
with thermo-mechanical loads at low temperatures,
using an environmental test chamber. They applied
thermo-mechanical tensile cyclic loading (up to 10
cycles) to T700/epoxy unidirectional laminates at
room temperature (RT) to -50 C, RT to -100 C, and
RT to -150 C (CT), respectively. Results showed that
tensile stiffness significantly increased as temperature
decreased, while the thermo-mechanical cycling had
less influence. Tensile strength, however, decreased as
temperature decreased down to Cold temperature (CT),
after CT cycling. Kriz3 analyzed the static behavior
300 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., AUGUST 2013
in tension of quasi-isotropic graphite fiber laminates
from room temperature to -196C. Wilson4 studied
different types of CFRPs (different carbon fibers) for
temperatures to -260C for unidirectional laminates,
analyzing the properties in both longitudinal and
transverse directions, and for cross ply laminates.
The behavior of unidirectional laminates of glass
fiber/polyester in compression and also mechanical
properties of CFRP unidirectional laminates at low
temperature were considered by Dutta5 and Schutz6,
respectively. The final results of both of them
were the same; they concluded that Young modulus
and the ultimate tensile stress increase as the
temperature decreases.
Shindo et al.7 investigated experimentally and
numerically the cryogenic fatigue delamination
behavior of glass fiber reinforced polymer woven
laminates under Mode I loading. They found fatigue
delamination growth rates of GFRP woven laminates
at low temperatures were much lower than that at
room temperature. Kumagai et al.8 experimentally
studied tension-tension fatigue damage behavior of
GFRP woven laminates in terms of stiffness
degradation and residual strength at low temperatures.
Also, the influence of cyclic loading upon the
stiffness loss and residual strength of the specimens
under fatigue has been examined experimentally at
room temperature, -196 K and -269 K. Stiffness
losses and residual strengths of the test specimens
were acquired as a function of number of cycles at the
fatigue limit. Hubner and Hartwing9 investigated the
behavior of cross-ply carbon fiber at temperatures in
the range of 25C to -196C under static and fatigue
loading conditions. Rogers et al.10 studied the thermal
expansion coefficient variation with temperature in
high modulus and high strength carbon fiber
unidirectional laminates. They observed that the
thermal expansion coefficient in the fiber direction
tends to increase as temperature decreases whereas
the opposite behavior occurs in the laminate
transverse direction. Dutta et al.11 analyzed the
behavior of quasi-isotropic CFRP laminates subjected
to impact loads at low velocity for temperatures
ranging from 20 to -60C. They observed that the
energy absorbed by the laminate showed little
dependence on temperature. Baker et al.12 have
studied the damage of laminated composites
including, application of failure criteria, crack
propagation, damage observation, effect of impactor
mass, target geometry, impact velocity, initial stress
and the residual strength. Hufenbach et al.13 has
illustrated an experimental and numerical
investigation on Charpy impact tests for different
configurations of carbon fiber composite specimens.
Aktas et al.14 and Icten et al.15 have also given
reviews on the impact response of glass/epoxy
laminated composites that cover both theoretical and
experimental aspects of the problem, such as impact
modeling, impact damage, damage prediction and
residual properties. Arnold et al.16 showed the linear
relationship between the damage and horizontal
impact angle through the inclined impact test of
chopped fiber reinforced composite materials.
Broutman and Yeung17 investigated the effect of fiber
orientation angle on the impact properties of off-axis
composites on E-glass/epoxy laminates. Also, they
varied the interface conditions by changing the
surface treatment of the glass fibers. Shokrieh et al.18
developed a numerical model to evaluate failure
analysis of glass/epoxy laminated composite at low
temperatures using progressive damage modeling.
Their results showed a good correlation with those
obtained from experimental tests.
The lack of a full data base for mechanical
properties of unidirectional laminates (included
tensile, compressive and shear properties) at low
temperatures, which can be used directly as input data
for progressive damage modeling of composite
structures, is obvious in literature survey. The
objective of the present study is to characterize the
temperature-dependent behavior of unidirectional
glass/epoxy laminates which is the basic building
block of a composite structure (generally made
of several unidirectional lamina stacked at various
angles) at temperature range of -60C to 25C. For
this reason, thermo-mechanical loads were applied to
glass/epoxy unidirectional laminates at room
temperature (RT), -20C and -60C. In order to fully
characterize glass/epoxy unidirectional composites at
room and low temperatures, several specimens were
tested. At room temperature four specimens and for
low temperature tests five coupons were tested for
each case. Then, by evaluating statistical parameters
(mean values and standard deviation) on experimental
results, reliability of the results was shown. Effects of
low temperatures on failure type and strain to failure
of the composites have been observed. Also, the
experimental results show that the magnitudes of both
strength and modulus of the composites under tensile,
compressive and shear loads increase with decrease of
temperature. On the other hand, strain to failure
decreased with decrease of temperature.
 TORABIZADEH: UNIDIRECTIONAL GLASS/EPOXY COMPOSITES 301

Materials and Specimen Geometry
Material properties
Unidirectional glass fibers have been used in this
investigation as reinforcing material, while epoxy
resin has been utilized as the matrix material. Hand
lay-up method was used to fabricate thin laminates
with epoxy resin ML-506 with hardener HA11.
Unidirectional laminates was kept for about a week at
room temperature for curing. Test specimens were cut
from laminates according to relevant standard codes.
All specimens had a constant cross-section with
tabs bonded to the ends. The fiber volume fraction of
the composites was 55%.
Tensile test
The unidirectional glass fiber-reinforced epoxy
which composed of ten plies was used in this test; the
total thickness of the laminate is 2 mm. Unidirectional
tensile specimens were cut out of the laminates in
both fiber and matrix directions (longitudinal and
transverse) according to ASTM D303919. Woven
glass/epoxy tabs with tapered ends were locally
bonded on each side of the specimens. These tabs
allow a smooth load transfer from the grip to the
specimen especially for low temperature test. The
geometries of the specimens for longitudinal and
transverse tensile tests are shown in Fig. 1.
Compression test
The specimens used for compression test had the
same material as those of the tensile test except that
these specimens were made of fifteen plies so that the
total thickness is 3 mm. Unidirectional compression
specimens were cut in the longitudinal and transverse
directions for longitudinal and transverse compression
tests and also a fixture is used for the tests according
to ASTM D341020. The geometries of the specimens
are shown in Fig. 2. Woven glass/epoxy tabs were

Fig. 1 Geometry of the specimens for longitudinal and transverse tensile tests at different temperatures

Fig. 2 Geometry of the specimens for longitudinal and transverse compressive tests at different temperatures
302 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., AUGUST 2013
locally bonded on each side of the specimens to
reduce the gripping effects. Also, a thin Teflon sheet,
as a weakly bonded area, was inserted on each of the
contacting surfaces between the specimens and the
tabs to reduce the gripping effects in fiber
compression specimens.
In-plane shear test
In the following, method of static experiments
for characterizing material properties under in-plane
shear loading is illustrated. Among numerous testing
methods, the three-rail shear test method, described
by the ASTM A425521, is a fairly reliable technique.
This method is modified by Shokrieh22. He developed
new specimen by inserting notches into the edges of
specimen. The reason behind the insertion of notches
at the locations of stress concentrations is to replace a
very sharp crack with a blunt crack with much lower
stress concentration factor. To increase the stability of
the specimen during the test, a [0 / 90] s configuration is
selected in this test. The specimen and the dimension
are shown in Fig. 3.
Electric strain gauges were used to measure the
strains of the specimens during the shear tests. The
strain gauges are attached to the specimens in the
direction of 45. The strain gauges and lead wires
were manufactured by TML Corporation for low
temperature ranges. However, since the changes in
temperature would also affect the strain in strain
gauges, Wheatstone half bridge circuit has been used
to reduce this unfavorable effect.
Fig. 3 Geometry of the specimens for in-plane shear tests at
different temperatures
Mechanical Testing
The specimens are tested from beginning to the
failure mode both at room and low temperatures. All
tests were conducted under displacement control
condition using Instron 5582 machine adaptable for
cryogenic service by an environmental chamber. The
displacement rate was 2 mm/min. Environmental
chamber has the ability to cool down the temperature
to -196C by evaporating liquid cryogenic Nitrogen.
During the tests, a pressurizing device is used to
control the cooling time from room temperature
to -20C and -60C and maintain an evaporating
pressure of 152 kPa. In order to reach thermal
equilibrium in mechanical parts of machine, the
temperature of environmental chamber was kept at
desired temperature for at least an hour. Also, since
composite materials require more time than metal
materials to reach thermal equilibrium states in low
temperatures, specimens stayed in a constant low
temperature for at least an hour prior to the start of
loading. Environmental chamber was equipped with a
fan to perform a uniform temperature. A digital
thermometer was mounted inside of environmental
chamber to monitor active temperature during the
tests. Experimental set-up for mechanical tests at
different temperatures is shown in Fig. 4.
Results and Discussion
Tensile test results
The purpose of the static tensile tests was to
determine the low temperature effects on the tensile
strength, Young modulus and ultimate strain of
unidirectional laminates in longitudinal and transverse
directions. Fig. 5 shows the typical stress-strain
behavior of unidirectional laminate under tensile
loads in longitudinal direction at room temperature,
-20C and -60C.
Fig. 4 Experimental set-up for mechanical tests at both room
and low temperatures
 TORABIZADEH: UNIDIRECTIONAL GLASS/EPOXY COMPOSITES
Fig. 5 Typical stress-strain behavior of unidirectional
laminate under tensile loads in longitudinal direction at room
temperature, -20C and -60C
The laminate exhibits a linear elastic behavior until
breakage and the slope of the stress-strain curve
increases as the temperature decreases. On the other
hand, by decreasing temperature, strain to failure
decreases slightly. The strain to failure reduction was
very small (from 0.037 at room temperature to 0.032
at -60C). However, the strength and stiffness
increase significantly as temperature decreases. The
average value of tensile strength increases from
700.11 MPa, at room temperature, to 784.98 MPa,
at -60C, whereas the Young modulus also increases
from 23.05 GPa at room temperature, to 28.65 GPa
at -60C. Gong et al.23 and Kim et al.2 also
reported that tensile strength and modulus for a
UD glass-epoxy composite increase at cryogenic
temperatures. Consequently, it was speculated
that the brittleness of the fibers had a major influence
on the stiffness and strength increase of UD
composites at low temperatures. Especially the
brittleness of the fibers rapidly increased within
a temperature range from RT to -60C which was
indicated elsewhere2.
Fig. 6 shows the load-deflection curve of
unidirectional laminates under tensile loads in
transverse direction. The behavior is the same as
described in the previous tests. The only difference is
that the stress-strain curve in this case showed
insignificant nonlinearity before reaching the
maximum stress, which is due to the nature of the
plasticity of epoxy. It was observed because the
composite becomes more brittle in low temperatures,
this nonlinearity behavior of matrix decreased by
decreasing temperature (Fig. 6)24. Typical results
were also reported that both transverse tensile strength
and stiffness increased by decreasing temperature
from RT for glass-epoxy composites25.
303
Fig. 6 Typical stress-strain behavior of unidirectional laminate
under tensile loads in transverse direction at room temperature, -
20C and -60C
Failure regions of the composite specimens at
different temperatures in longitudinal and transverse
directions under tensile loading are shown in Fig. 7
and Fig. 8, respectively. It is found that in the case of
longitudinal tension, the failure mechanism changes
with temperature while no significant change was
observed on the transverse direction.
For the longitudinal direction, from a visual
inspection of the damage surfaces, a significant
change could be observed in the fracture surface at
room temperature to -60C. There is a small amount
of tab de-bonding near the gauge area for room
temperature tested specimens. Also, fiber breakage
which is more visible for low temperature case was
occurred. At low temperature, due to weak interface
between the fiber and matrix, fibers lose their bonds
to the matrix. Moreover, matrix cracking and fiber
pull-out were also observed. As shown in Fig. 7,
damage area was more limited at RT while by
decreasing temperature to -60C; the damage was
extend further and covered the entire gauge region.
In the transverse tension loading, net matrix failure
observed near the gauge area. The major difference
between room temperature and low temperatures tests
in this case is that in low temperatures (Fig. 8) small
fiber-matrix de-bonding is observed which is not
obvious in room temperature specimens. Also, bigger
failure region of matrix is obvious at low
temperatures. There is no significant change in
failure mechanism for specimens at -20C and -60C.
Compressive tests results
In order to determine the effect of low temperature
service on the strength and strain to failure of
304 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., AUGUST 2013

Fig. 7 Failure regions of the composite specimens at different temperatures in longitudinal direction under tensile loading

Fig. 8 Failure regions of the composite specimens at different temperatures in transverse direction under tensile loading

composite specimens in longitudinal and transverse

directions, a set of experimental tests were performed.
For this reason, a special fixture recommended in
ASTM D3410 was used to prevent possible buckling.
Fig. 9 illustrates typical stress-strain behavior of
composite laminate under compressive loading in
longitudinal direction at various temperatures.
As shown, the stress-strain relation is slightly
nonlinear and final failure occurs catastrophically in
all cases. The main specific property of longitudinal
compressive stress-strain curves is that against other
nonlinear stress-strain curves of UD composite in
longitudinal or transverse directions, these curves Fig. 9 Typical stress-strain behavior of unidirectional
exhibit positive curvature. This may be due to laminate under compressive loads in longitudinal direction
interface bonding between matrix and fibers. at room temperature, -20C and -60C
Imperfect fiber-matrix bonding is a manufacturing that by increasing compression in longitudinal
defect that is created during curing process. This direction, this bonding becomes grater and the
defect influences the role of the matrix that role of matrix against microbuckling of fibers is
supports the fibers when the composite is under more highlighted. As shown in the figure, significant
compression26,27. From stress-strain curves, it seems non-linear deformation was often observed before
 TORABIZADEH: UNIDIRECTIONAL GLASS/EPOXY COMPOSITES
the maximum load28,29, and this behavior was
associated to the plastic deformation of the polymeric
matrix. Compressive strength in longitudinal
direction increases significantly by decreasing
temperature (from 570.37 MPa at room temperature
to 731.94 MPa at -60C).
Fig. 10 depicts stress-strain curves of unidirectional
composite under transverse compressive loading at
different temperatures. Again significant increase in
strength of composite was observed by decreasing
temperature (from 122.12 MPa at room temperature
to 186.22 MPa at -60C). Typical behavior was
reported by Gonzalez and Lorca30 for glass-epoxy
composites. But in this case against other directions of
loading, by decreasing temperature, transverse
compressive stiffness was decreased and strain to
failure was increased significantly.
Fig. 10 Typical stress-strain behavior of unidirectional
laminate under compressive loads in transverse direction at room
temperature, -20C and -60C
Fig. 11 Failure regions of the composite specimens at different temperatures in longitudinal direction under compressive loading
Fig. 12 Failure regions of the composite specimens at different temperatures in transverse direction under compressive loading
305
Figs 11 and 12 show failed specimens under
compressive loading in longitudinal and transverse
directions at different temperatures, respectively.
The main failure mode of specimens in this case is
micro buckling of fibers in shear or extensional
mode. Also, in this case, there is a small amount of
tab de-bonding near the gauge area for room
temperature specimens. The change in the mechanical
response with decreasing temperature is associated
with a change in failure modes. As shown in Fig. 11,
failure occurred at the middle of specimen under
micro-buckling failure mode. The difference is that, in
low temperature cases, more fiber pull-out was
occurred. Also, extensive de-bonding between fibers
and the matrix was also observed because of weaker
fiber and matrix bonding at low temperatures. In this
case, only at low temperatures failed specimens
fractured in two separate parts.
In the case of compression failure in the transverse
direction at low temperature, the failure area is much
more than the room temperature specimens. Also at
room temperature, specimen is not fractured in two
separate parts. This is because of major effects of low
temperature on mechanical properties of epoxy matrix
of composites. In this case, there is no significant
change in failure mechanism for specimens at -20C
and -60C. It is found that the role played by two
dominant damage mechanisms (de-cohesion at the
interface and shear band formation in the matrix) in
controlling the composite strength. On the other
hand, if de-cohesion is inhibited, failure took place
by the development of shear bands in the matrix
306 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., AUGUST 2013
which propagated through the microstructure at angle
of 45o with respect to the plane perpendicular to the
compression axis30. The compressive strength was
slightly higher than the matrix strength under
compression due to the additional strengthening
provided by the fibers. Parametric studies showed that
other factors (such as the matrix friction angle, the
interface fracture energy and the thermo-elastic
residual stresses) exerted a secondary influence on the
compressive strength of PMC under transverse
compression30. But the matrix is more susceptible to
the formation of shear bands. The angle formed
between the failure plane and in-plane loading
direction is slightly above 45and typical values
reported31-33 are in the range 50-56.
In-plane shear test results
Fig. 13 shows the stress-strain behavior of
modified specimen under in-plane shear loadings at
room temperature, -20C and -60C. As shown, this
behavior is highly nonlinear for all temperature tests.
Also, as temperature decreases to -60C from the
Fig. 13 Typical stress-strain behavior of unidirectional
laminate under in-plane shear loading at room temperature, -20C
and -60C
Fig. 14 Tested specimens under shear loading at different temperatures
room temperature, both the in-plane shear modulus
and strength increased significantly.
For metallic materials, the linear region of the
stress-strain curve corresponds to elastic deformation
and the nonlinear region to plastic deformation.
However, when working with non-crystalline
substances (such as epoxy), the glass transition
temperature (Tg) determines whether a material can
exhibit viscous, or non-linear behavior. Below the
glass transition temperature a non-crystalline material
is considered an amorphous solid, above it a rubbery
solid and, as the temperature increases, a viscous
liquid34. A non-crystalline material such as a polymer
can only exhibit viscous behavior above Tg, below Tg,
the material will fail before it plastically deforms. All
of the tests in the current study were conducted well
below Tg for the epoxy resin (157C). This indicates
that the nonlinear regions of the shear stress-shear
strain curves generated by the tests at room and low
temperatures are not the result of viscous or plastic
deformation24. This nonlinear behavior is thought to
be the result of micro-crack accumulation throughout
the matrix. The extensive nonlinear region displayed
in the room temperature stress-strain curves would
correspond to a high density of micro-cracks
throughout the material (Fig. 13). The more limited
nonlinear region in the curves generated from the tests
done at low temperatures imply that there is a
progressive decrease in micro-crack accumulation
within the specimen with decreasing temperature.
Reduction the nonlinear region of stress-strain curves
at low temperatures also confirmed by a suitable
candidate model to study the nonlinear behavior of
composites under shear loading. Parameter of material
nonlinearity decreased from 1.76 10-8 MPa-3 at room
temperature to 1.33 10-8 MPa-3 at-60 C.
Fig. 14 shows tested specimens and failure regions
under in-plane shear loading at different temperatures.
 TORABIZADEH: UNIDIRECTIONAL GLASS/EPOXY COMPOSITES
As shown in the figure, more damaged area was
observed with decreasing temperature from room
temperature to -60C.
Fig. 15 shows the experimental values of
tensile and compressive strengths for unidirectional
laminates at different temperatures in longitudinal and
transverse directions with their calculated standard
deviations.
In each case in Fig.15 (a, b), by a polynomial curve
fitting to experimental data, the increasing trend of
strengths by decreasing the temperature is shown.
However, the increasing rate of compressive strength
by decreasing temperature is more for that of the
tensile strength in both longitudinal and transverse
directions.
Fig. 16 shows experimental values of tensile
modulus for unidirectional laminates at different
temperatures in longitudinal and transverse directions.
Both longitudinal and transverse tensile modulus
increased by decreasing temperature to -60C.
Fig. 15 Experimental values of the tensile and compressive
strengths for unidirectional laminates at different temperature in
(a) longitudinal and b) transverse directions
307
Decreasing temperature, in this case, has lower
effect on the final failure mode of the compression
tests of the unidirectional plies in longitudinal and
transverse directions at various temperatures in
comparison with the previous one. Experimental
magnitudes of shear strength and modulus at different
temperatures are compared in Fig. 17. In the case of
shear loading, low temperature has major effect on
mechanical properties of composites.
Temperature effects on mechanical properties of
UD composites which are plotted in Figs 15-17 can be
assessed also using a regression function defined by
Torabizadeh35:
M (T ) = T 2 T + , (1)
where M and T are the mechanical property and
temperature, respectively. Also , and are the
Fig. 16 Experimental values of compressive strength for
unidirectional laminates at different temperature in longitudinal
and transverse directions
Fig. 17 Experimental values of shear strength and modulus for
cross ply laminates at different temperatures
308 INDIAN J. ENG. MATER. SCI., AUGUST 2013

Table 1Material constants and correlation coefficients against other nonlinear curves, positive
-60C T 25C curvature was observed.
Material constants R (iii) The laminate under in-plane shear loading
Longitudinal 0.0093 1.5706 604.05 0.9575 behaves highly nonlinear for all temperature
compressive strength tests until final failure. Again, in this case, both
Transverse 0.0121 0.3784 124.04 0.9678 shear strength and stiffness increased by
compressive strength decreasing temperature in about 32% and 70%
Longitudinal 0.0098 0.3808 718.52 0.9642 respectively. Also nonlinear region decreased by
tensile strength
decreasing temperature due to increasing
Transverse 0.0010 0.0789 70.390 0.9622
brittleness of epoxy matrix.
tensile strength
In-plane shear strength 0.0058 0.0341 65.339 0.9682 (iv) Failure type of laminates under various loadings
Longitudinal modulus 0.0011 0.0326 22.800 0.9666 was affected by low temperature. It was found
Transverse modulus 0.0007 0.0420 6.1913 0.9920 that, by decreasing temperature a small amount
In-plane shear modulus 0.0002 0.0184 2.477 0.9769 of tab debonding occurred near the gauge area of
specimens in longitudinal tensile loading. Also,
material constants. The values for , , and R because of the interface between fiber and
(the correlation coefficient) are given in Table 1. matrix was much weaker at low temperature,
fibers debond the matrix in all test cases.
Conclusions Therefore, it may be concluded that the low
Mechanical behavior of glass/epoxy unidirectional temperature affects the micro mechanisms of
composite material under static loadings at low damage in composite specimen.
temperatures was experimentally investigated. For (v) From general master curves (Figs 15-17) and
this reason, tests were performed at room temperature, illustrated regression function, mechanical
-20C and -60C. Effects of low temperature on the properties of unidirectional glass fiber polymeric
strength, stiffness, strain to failure and failure type of composites at temperature range of -60C to
unidirectional composite specimens under tensile, 25C can be evaluated.
compressive and in-plane shear loading were
(vi) The unidirectional lamina is the basic building
investigated. Based on the test results of the present
block of a composite structure, which is
study, the following conclusions are drawn:
generally made of several unidirectional plies
(i) The stress-strain behavior of laminate under stacked at various angles. Therefore, the results
tensile loads in longitudinal direction was linear of the present study can be used as input data for
elastic until breakage and the slope of the stress- a progressive damage modeling of laminated
strain curve and the strength increased about glass/epoxy composites at temperature range of -
12% as the temperature decreased to -60 C. On 60C to 25C.
the other hand, by decreasing temperature, strain
to failure decreased slightly about 10%. References
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