Bridging law and toughness characterisation of CSM and SMC composites

This work presents an experimental investigation of the fracture properties of three different short-fiber-reinforced composites [one chopped strand mat (CSM) and two sheet molding compound (SMC) materials]. Fracture tests are performed on double-cantilever beam (DCB) specimens loaded with pure bending moments. In this experimental configuration, the bridging law for the material can be derived directly from measurements. No significant dependency on specimen height was observed in our results. The bridging laws determined can, therefore, be considered as material properties. The coupling between microstructure and fracture behaviour is discussed through the measured bridging laws. The beneficial effect (in terms of fracture energy) of increasing tendency for pull-out is confirmed for one SMC, referred to as Flex-SMC, which shows remarkably high fracture energy, Jc=56.0 kJ/m2, compared to a standard SMC, termed Std-SMC, Jc=25.9 kJ/m2. This increasing tendency for pull-out is observed to shift the bridging law towards larger crack openings. On the basis of our observations we find the concept of characterising the failure behaviour in terms of bridging laws attractive since it can be used as a tool for the tailoring of the microstructure towards desired fracture behaviour.