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Influence of backing layers on the interlaminar fracture toughness energy – Mode I – of quasi-unidirectional GFRP

  • Simon Backens

    Dipl. Ing. Simon Backens, born in 1990, studied mechanical engineering at the TU Kaiserslautern. Since 2016, he has been a research assistant at the Fraunhofer Institute for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP in Rostock. He works in the Fiber Composite Technology Group of the New Materials and Processes Department.

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    , Stefan Schmidt

    Dr.Ing. Stefan Schmidt, born in 1988, studied mechanical engineering at the University of Rostock and has been working at the Fraunhofer Institute for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP in Rostock since 2014. In 2020, he completed his doctorate on the topic of “Structural bonding of fiber-reinforced plastic composites”. Since 2020, he is head of the Fiber Composite Technology Group.

    and Wilko Flügge

    Prof. Dr. Ing. Wilko Flügge, born in 1969, studied mechanical engineering at the TU Clausthal. At the University of Paderborn, he completed his doctorate on the subject of “Punch riveting of stainless steels”. Until 2017, he worked in research in the field of application technology at Salzgitter AG. Since June 2017, he has been chair holder of the Chair of Production Engineering at the University of Rostock and head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP.

Published/Copyright: April 25, 2024
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Abstract

Quasi-unidirectional glass fiber non-crimp fabrics consist of a unidirectional main layer in the 0° direction stabilized by a backing layer in the 90° direction with a significantly lower amount of fibers. It is known that the backing layers impair the fatigue performance of respective reinforced plastics due to their orientation perpendicular to the main load direction. They act as damage initiators for the failure of the load-carrying unidirectional fibers. In the present work, the positive influence of the backing layers on the interlaminar fracture toughness energy – Mode I – GIC is demonstrated by tests in accordance with DIN EN 6033. The presence of backing fibers in the delamination plane can improve the GIC values by up to 43 %. Furthermore, results from evaluation according to DIN EN 6033 and ASTM D5528 are shown to have a good agreement, if the correction factor for large displacements recommended in the ASTM standard is not applied. If it is applied, however, there is a clear gap of up to 19 % between the two standards because the DIN simply does not provide a correction for large deflections.


Corresponding author: Simon Backens, New Materials and Processes, Fraunhofer Institute for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP, Albert-Einstein-Straße 30, Rostock 18059, Germany, E-mail:

About the authors

Simon Backens

Dipl. Ing. Simon Backens, born in 1990, studied mechanical engineering at the TU Kaiserslautern. Since 2016, he has been a research assistant at the Fraunhofer Institute for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP in Rostock. He works in the Fiber Composite Technology Group of the New Materials and Processes Department.

Stefan Schmidt

Dr.Ing. Stefan Schmidt, born in 1988, studied mechanical engineering at the University of Rostock and has been working at the Fraunhofer Institute for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP in Rostock since 2014. In 2020, he completed his doctorate on the topic of “Structural bonding of fiber-reinforced plastic composites”. Since 2020, he is head of the Fiber Composite Technology Group.

Wilko Flügge

Prof. Dr. Ing. Wilko Flügge, born in 1969, studied mechanical engineering at the TU Clausthal. At the University of Paderborn, he completed his doctorate on the subject of “Punch riveting of stainless steels”. Until 2017, he worked in research in the field of application technology at Salzgitter AG. Since June 2017, he has been chair holder of the Chair of Production Engineering at the University of Rostock and head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Viktoria Nikolova and Kathrin Hasche (both New Materials and Processes, Fraunhofer IGP) for the manufacturing of the GFRP laminates and the determination of the fiber volume contents. They thank Laurens Nagel and Elisa Deiß for their support in carrying out and evaluating the tests. Their thanks also go to Nordex Energy SE & Co. KG for providing the materials used.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  3. Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Research funding: None declared.

  5. Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Published Online: 2024-04-25
Published in Print: 2024-07-26

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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