Temperature Dependence of Flexural Strength of a CF-SMC Composite

This paper presents the temperature dependence of predicting the flexural strength of a carbon fiber-reinforced sheet molding compound (CF-SMC). First, three-point flexural tests were performed to measure strength and elastic modulus at a variety of temperatures for CF-SMC specimens. Next, simple equations for predicting flexural strength were derived based on the fracture mechanics approach. The predicted flexural strength was in reasonably good agreement with the experiment results. The scatter of flexural strength was ascribed to the variation of location and size of the initial damage. In addition, the effect of temperature on flexural strength and delamination behavior was explained in association with the temperature dependence of the elastic modulus and fracture toughness.