A composite may be made using epoxy resin with glass fibres. The G c (fracture toughness) of glass is around 8 J m -2 and that of epoxy resin is around 500 J m -2 . Which of the following would you expect the composite's fracture toughness to be?

Question

A composite may be made using epoxy resin with glass fibres. The G c  (fracture toughness) of glass is around 8 J m -2  and that of epoxy resin is around 500 J m -2 . Which of the following would you expect the composite's fracture toughness to be?

Answer

8Jm -2 , because the toughness is determined by the least tough constituent in the composite.

Answer

>500Jm -2 , because of the extra energy used in fibre debonding and pullout.

Answer

500Jm -2 , because the toughness is determined by the most tough constituent in the composite.

Answer

between 8 and 500Jm -2 , because the toughness is always intermediate between the toughness of fibres and the toughness of the matrix.

Crowdly

A composite may be made using epoxy resin with glass fibres. The G c (fracture ...

Want instant access to all verified answers on moodle.telt.unsw.edu.au?