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Indentation response of a 3D non-woven carbon-fibre composite

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Abstract

The indentation response of a 3D noninterlaced composite comprising three sets of orthogonal carbon-fibre tows in an epoxy matrix is investigated. The 3D composites have a near isotropic and ductile indentation response. The deformation mode includes the formation of multiple kinks in the tows aligned with the indentation direction and shearing of the orthogonally oriented tows. Finite element (FE) calculations are also reported wherein tows in one direction are explicitly modeled with the other two sets of orthogonal tows and the matrix pockets treated as an effective homogenous medium. The calculations capture the indentation response in the direction of the explicitly modeled tows with excellent fidelity but under-predict the indentation strength in the other directions. In contrast to anisotropic and brittle laminated composites, 3D noninterlaced composites have a near isotropic and ductile indentation response making them strong candidates for application as materials to resist impact loading.

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Notes

  1. The acronym NOOB stands for Non-interlacing, Orientating Orthogonally and Binding.23

  2. Nils Malmgren AB, P.O. Box 2039 S-442 02 Ytterby Sweden.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to the Office of Naval Research (ONR) for their financial support through grant number N62909-16-1-2127 on Dynamic performance of 3D assembled composite structures (program managers Dr. Joong Kim & Dr. Judah Goldwasser).

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Correspondence to Vikram S. Deshpande.

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End Notes

a. The acronym NOOB stands for Non-interlacing, Orientating Orthogonally and Binding.23

b. Nils Malmgren AB, P.O. Box 2039 S-442 02 Ytterby Sweden.

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Das, S., Kandan, K., Kazemahvazi, S. et al. Indentation response of a 3D non-woven carbon-fibre composite. Journal of Materials Research 33, 317–329 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2017.481

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2017.481

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