Effect of fabric areal density on the mechanical behaviour of symmetric and asymmetric woven GFRP composite

In this work, effects of fabric areal density (AD) on the mechanical behavior of symmetric and asymmetric woven GFRP laminates were investigated. Two different fabric surface densities such as 610 and 210 GSM (gram per square meter) were considered in the preparation of 8 and 16 layered laminates of the same thickness, respectively. Both laminates had two different ply layup sequence, making them asymmetric and symmetric laminates. Laminates were fabricated by hand layup followed by press molding technique. Fiber volume fraction was calculated approximately 55% as per ASTM D3171-15. Tensile, Compressive, and flexural tests were conducted according to their ASTM standard on Hounsfield H50KS, a computer-controlled universal testing machine. Results exhibited that the static mechanical behavior of the laminates was influenced by the ply stacking sequence and fabric areal density. Laminate with higher areal density fiber presented better mechanical properties than the lower one. An increase in areal density from 210 GSM to 610 GSM of fabric irrespective of stacking sequences caused a rise of 45-50% in tensile strength and 35-50% in flexural strength while decrease 10-12% in compressive strength, of a GFRP laminate. While among asymmetric and symmetric ply stacking sequences, symmetric one independent of areal density showed better tensile, compressive, and flexure properties.