Evaluation of the mechanical properties of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites through experimental and numerical approaches.

Ethical reference #: 2021FEBEREC-STD-025

This thesis presents a numerical simulation approach to analyze the mechanical strength and failure mechanisms of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymers (UD-CFRPs) manufactured using the vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) technique. The goal is to understand the in-plane tensile and flexural strength properties of these composites, addressing challenges in predicting behavior and failure under static loading conditions. The study uses a numerical simulation method with Ansys Mechanical Composite PrepPost (ACP), employing both experimental data and a stacked shell approach. It focuses on calibrating simulation parameters and minimizing mesh dependencies to enhance reliability.

Validation is performed by comparing finite element results with experimental data. The results show that the simulation model closely matches experimental data for some specimens, with deviations ranging from 4.26% to 28.43% for tensile tests, and significant discrepancies in flexural tests. These differences are attributed to material properties in the FEA model that were not experimentally determined. The thesis highlights the importance of these factors when developing numerical models to accurately predict the load-bearing capacity of dry UD-CFRP composites made using the VARI technique.