Effect of small ply angle variation in tensile and compressive strength of woven GFRP composite: Application of two parameter Weibull distribution

This paper demonstrates the effect of small ply angle variation in tensile and compressive strength of woven Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composites. Four different plies of (0/90)₄, (±5°)_4, (±10°)_4, (±15°)₄ manufactured by hand lay-up followed by the press molding machine. Samples for the tensile and compressive tests were prepared according to ASTM D3039 and ASTM D3410 standards. Three samples of each laminate were tested on a Universal Testing Machine (UTM) at a steady crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. A digital microscope was used for tracking the sample damage pattern. It was observed that fiber orientation in laminates affects the tensile and compressive strength. Fibers ruptured during tensile testing of specimens and in compressive testing, samples failed due to the separation of longitudinal fibers. The experimental results showed that (0/90)₄ ply showed the maximum tensile strength and compressive strength followed by (±5°)_4, (±10°)_4, (±15°)₄. Weibull distribution analysis was used for statistical estimation of the tensile and compressive life of specimens.