Investigation of fibre orientation and notch support of short glass fibre lot reinforced thermoplastics

In this paper, the effect of anisotropy on notches for a PPA-GF50 is discussed. For this, fatigue tests on specimens with boreholes at the centre, extracted from injection moulded plates, have been performed. Different, orientated layers, lead to anisotropic material behaviour along the notch. Simulations highlight the local stresses, including stress gradients. Nevertheless, the stress gradient along notches evoked by anisotropy, isn't considered in common gradient models for notch support. Therefore, a novel method to take the effect of the local fibre orientation into account is proposed. However, experiments show a notch radius influence in fatigue strength and fibre orientation effect on notch support. The consideration of the new findings allows a more precise lifetime assessment for notched, anistoropic materials.