Fiber-reinforced plastics deformation behavior

The obtainable increase in the tensile strength depends on both the plastic and the reinforcing fiber. Craze formation is caused by shear stress peaks at the fiber-plastic interface. Consequently, plastics with ductile deformation behavior lead to better mechanical properties than brittle plastics glass-fiber-reinforced polyamides exhibit the larger increase in tensile strength when compared with glass-fiber-reinforced epoxides. 

Any material, when stressed, stretches or is otherwise deformed. If the resin and the fiber in reinforced plastics are firmly bonded together, the deformation will be the same in both. For efficient structural behavior high-strength fibers are employed, but these must be more unyielding than the resin. Therefore for a given deformation or strain a higher... 

Reinforced plastics form an important area of structural application of plastics since the modulus and strength of plastics can be increased significantly through reinforcement. In reinforced plastics, the polymer (popularly called the resin) forms the matrix and a filler (mostly used in the form of fibers, hut particles, for example glass spheres, are also used) provides the reinforcing effect. In view of then-distinctive nature and extensive use as materials of construction in load-hearing applications, a special focus has been on analysis of properties of reinforced plastics, especially those reinforced by continuous or discontinuous fibers, as well as their deformation, fi-acture, fatigue, and impact behaviors. 

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