Effect of Notch Shape & Size on the Mechanical Performance of Woven GFRP Laminate: A numerical Investigation

Abstract

Due to their ability to impart transverse stiffness, glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite materials have increasingly been used in different sectors, especially in the woven type. Assembly of such materials in many configurations requires drilling a hole, thus creating a material discontinuity in that component. The failure strength and mode of failure significantly depend on the shape of such notches. In this investigation, the numerical model of woven GFRP laminates with various shaped notches is developed and subjected to a displacement-controlled quasi-static tensile test. The size of the notches is also varied to study its effect on the Bearing Strength (BS) of the laminate. The effect of three shapes, constituting a circle, a square, and a diamond, is evaluated for different ply orientation angles on their failure pattern is identified