Researcher(s)
- Alexander Barry, Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Sagar Doshi, Center for Composite Materials, University of Delaware
Abstract
Composites with strong durability and damage tolerance characteristics are highly desired for many defense applications. The material’s damage response to LVIs (low-velocity impacts) is needed to optimize its effectiveness in specific situations. MAT213 is a modeling software that can simulate a material and its response to various types of damage. It can provide accurate insight into how a composite material with a certain set of parameters will perform, without going through the expensive and time-consuming process of physically manufacturing and testing it. However, MAT213 requires the fundamental properties of the composite material before it can correctly model and simulate it. These properties are inputted in the form of stress vs strain curves resulting from various mechanical tests. This project will focus on the through-thickness compressive properties of woven S-2 glass fibers with an RDL-RDC resin matrix. In fiber-matrix composites, the through-thickness properties are often harder to measure and samples are more complex to manufacture than for the longitudinal and transverse properties. This project was successful at obtaining a reliable through-thickness compressive stress vs strain curve for the purposes of MAT213.