Fracture characteristics and anisotropy in notched glass fiber reinforced plastics

The damage mechanism of reinforced plastics may be present in many different ways, since it depends on many factors. Highlights may be given to the effect of stress concentration in of geometric discontinuity in the sections of these structural elements, which in general always leads to certain characteristics of the fracture. In the case of glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) it is expected the same tendency, beyond the influence of reinforcement and its internal orientation in the layers (anisotropy). The aims of this work are detailed study of the influence of the holes (longituninal section) in the characteristic fracture in GFRP submitted to tensile loading. Three different configurations of composite laminates were studied: two reinforced with Eglassfiber bidirectional textil fabric and the other only with short mats, also Eglassfiber. The results showed the influence of all parameters listed above in the final fracture characteristics and residual properties.