Author(s)

M.S. Sham Prasad, C.S. Venkatesha, T. Jayaraju

Dept. of Industrial & Production Engineering, National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, India.
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, India.
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, U BDT college of Engineering, Davangere, India.

Polymer composites is a typical material consisting of a matrix reinforced with fiber/filler and the general nature of construction of the material itself provides innumerable sites for the initiation of a defect or for the growth of delamination. The life expectancy of composite structure requires a clear understanding of the material’s response to the growth of interlaminar delamination under Mode I, Mode II, Mode III and Mixed Modes. Fracture testing of fiber reinforced polymer-matrix composites is an active area of research. Even though substantial progress in the area of fracture testing has been achieved, there are still several problems awaiting solution. The new aspects in the experimental studies of interlaminar and intralaminar fracture toughness of polymer matrix composites were emphasized in this review paper. The different modes to evaluate the fracture energy were listed and their suitability was mentioned.

Interlaminar, Delamination, Intralaminar, Fracture toughness

M. Prasad, C. Venkatesha and T. Jayaraju, "Experimental Methods of Determining Fracture Toughness of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites under Various Loading Conditions," Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, Vol. 10 No. 13, 2011, pp. 1263-1275. doi: 10.4236/jmmce.2011.1013099.