Progressive Failure Analysis of Quasi-isotropic Self-reinforced Polyethylene Composites by Comparing Unsupervised and Supervised Classifications of Acoustic Emission Data

Unsupervised and supervised pattern recognition( PR)techniques are used to classify the acoustic emission( AE) data originating from the quasi-isotropic self-reinforced polyethylene composites,in order to identify the various mechanisms in the multiangle-ply thermoplastic composites. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene / low density polyethylene( UHMWPE / LDPE)composites were made and tested under quasi-static tensile load. The failure process was monitored by the AE technique. The collected AE signals were classified by unsupervised and supervised PR techniques, respectively. AE signals were clustered with unsupervised PR scheme automatically and mathematically. While in the supervised PR scheme,the labeled AE data from simple lay-up UHMWPE / LDPE laminates were utilized as the reference data.Comparison was drawn according to the analytical results. Fracture surfaces of the UHMWPE / LDPE specimens were observed by a scanning electron microscope( SEM) for some physical support. By combining both classification results with the observation results,correlations were established between the AE signal classes and their originating damage modes. The comparison between the two classifying schemes showed a good agreement in the main damage modes and their failure process. It indicates both PR techniques are powerful for the complicated thermoplastic composites. Supervised PR scheme can lead to a more precise classification in that a suitable reference data set is input.

PROGRESSIVE DAMAGE ARREST MECHANISM IN TAILORED LAMINATED PLATES WITH A CUTOUT

This study addresses the effectiveness of a simple stiffness tailoring concept to delay damage initiation, control damage progression, and improve residual strength in tensile-loaded composite plates with a central circular cutout. The tailoring concept is to simply reposit all axially oriented （0°） material into regions near the edge of the plate away from the cutout. This tailoring is done in a way so as not to affect the weight of the plate. This accomplishes several beneficial changes in the way that the plate resists loading with no increases in material cost or weight. Lowering the axial stiffness of the laminate surrounding the cutout lowers the stress concentration. Increasing the axial stiffness near edges of the plate attracts loading away from the vicinity of the cutout to further lower stresses in the critical cutout region. This study focuses on in-plane response including damage progression and residual strength as a function of the degree of tailoring and cutout size. Strength and stiffness properties typical of IM7/8551-7 preperg material were assumed and a modified version of the Hashin failure criteria was used to identify the local damage. Results show that tailoring can significantly increase the damage initiation load and the residual strength. In some cases, observed evidence shows that tailoring performs as a damage arrest mechanism.