THE EFFECTS OF FIBER FORM ON THE MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF GLASS-FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITES

Tests were conducted with continuous glass fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composites that had different types of fiber reinforcements. Composites reinforced with either unidirectional, triaxial or random fibers were tested. The tensile and compressive strengths and moduli, the Iosipescu shear moduli, the short beam shear strengths, the mode I critical strain energy release rates, and the damage introduced by impact were measured. The results demonstrate the influence of fiber form on these properties and provide design guides for the use of different fiber forms.