Shear Properties of Woven and Chopped Strand Mat Laminated Composite by Arcan Test Method

Abstract

The woven and chopped strand mat (CSM) are two types of GFRP (Glass-Fiber Reinforced Polymer) manufacture glass fabrics used in laminated composite. The main purpose when producing GFRP is to produce the materials that can process the best mechanical properties to suit with a certain condition. There are many tests which can be used in order to determine GFRP’s mechanical properties. Arcan Test Method is the most suitable test for determining shear stress in GFRP. Based on the past experiment, the pure shear stresses occur at the significant area was proven and the test result is reliable. Factors that affected the GFRP shear stress are forms and orientation of the fibers. Besides that, volume fractions of fibers, Vf can also affect the shear stress in the materials. The stress will be higher when the load is being applied to the fiber direction and it will be lower at the transverse direction. Furthermore, the shear strength will be increased with the fiber volume fractions increment. Uniform shear strain, γ occur at the significant area where strain at (+45° and -45°) direction is uniform. Therefore, Arcan Test Method can be used to determine the shear stress of different fiber form s and fiber volume factions for GFRP materials.