Applied Mechanics and Materials Submitted: 2015-02-05

ISSN: 1662-7482, Vol. 787, pp 543-547 Revised: 2015-03-23

doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.787.543 Accepted: 2015-04-10
© 2015 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland Online: 2015-08-28

Effect of cyclic loading frequency on flexural modulus of GFRP

laminates with resin rich intermediate layers
Loganathan T G 1, a*, Krishna Murthy R2, b and Chandrasekaran K3, c
1
Asso. Professor,Department of Mechanical Engineering, RMK College of Engineering and
Technology, RSM Nagar, Gummidipondi taluk, Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India
2
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, RMK Engineering College, RSM Nagar,
Gummidipondi taluk, Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India
3
Dean &Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, RMK Engineering College, RSM
Nagar, Gummidipondi taluk, Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu, India
a
dhanushaudi@gmail.com, bramalingamkrishnamurthy@gmail.com,
c
kesavan.chandrasekaran@gmail.com

Key words: GFRP, resin-rich intermediate layer, cyclic loading, loading frequency, flexural
modulus, damping factor.

Abstract. The flexural modulus of composite laminates subjected to cyclic loads of varying cycle
periods are experimentally investigated in this work. GFRP composite laminate specimen of
configuration 0/R/0/0/0, 0/R/30/60/0, 0/R/90/90/0 and 0/R/45/-45/0 are prepared by hand lay-up
technique with a uniquely processed resin-rich intermediate layer for the testing. Specimens are
exposed to constant amplitude cyclic loading of frequencies 4.6 Hz and 8.6 Hz. A cantilever
configuration of specimen with cyclic tip loading is considered to simulate the conditions of a leaf
of a laminated automobile leaf spring. The flexural response of the laminate is measured using three
point bend test as per ASTM D 790 and damping by hysteresis loop. The observed reduction in
flexural modulus and the increase in damping factor after loading are compared with virgin.
Minimised flexural modulus deviations between the loading frequencies are favoured by the
cushioning of resin rich intermediate layer in the lay-up.

Introduction

GFRP composite laminates are widely preferred on account of their useful specific properties and
light weight. The majority of the non- structural and a few structural parts of automobiles,
especially in modern cars, have been fabricated using composite materials because of the ability to
directionally and selectively strengthen the structures at reduced weight. As a part of improvement,
automobile leaf springs have been developed using GFRP composites. The leaf springs are
subjected to transverse loading in the form of cyclic loading of varying magnitude which induces
damages like matrix crack [1, 2, 3], delamination and fibre failure [4] exhibiting a reduction in the
post fatigue properties of the composites. Matrix cracks induced delamination could be reduced and
constrained by proper ply orientation θ [5], lay thickness [6] and the constraining effect decreases
for θ values increasing from 00 to 900.Usually higher fibre volume fraction composite at low test
temperature exhibit best performance in transverse loading [7,8,9]. Optimal lay-up selection, fibre
volume fraction, and loading can yield high damping, high strength and low mass for dynamic
application [10, 11].Hysteresis loop [12], stiffness and loss factor during fatigue testing aids the
measure of damage and in the case of brittle matrix, cracks enhances the fatigue resistance [13].
Various damage models have been proposed, considering fibre motions [9], specific damping
capacity [14] and energy dissipation [15] in the literature to characterise the damage pattern in glass
epoxy composites. It is essential to study the damping behaviour of composite structures on cyclic
loading for structural reliability in service. The consolidated impact of factors like fibre orientation,
lay-up sequence, loading frequency and their interaction on the behaviour of GFRP laminates to

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544 Alternative Energy Sources, Materials and Technologies

cyclic load which have not been accounted much have been considered in this paper. This work is
to experimentally simulate the response of the composite leaf of an automobile leaf spring
configured as a cantilever beam with cyclic loads at its tip.

Specimen Preparation and Experiment

Specimen of configuration A-0/R/0/0/0, B-0/R/30/60/0, C-0/R/90/90/0 and D-0/R/45/-45/0 have

been prepared by hand layup technique with selective application and curing of resin in the selected
intermediate layer (Fig.1). ‘R’ indicates the resin (matrix) layer and 0,30,60,45 and 90are the fibre
orientation in the lay-up configuration. The designation of the laminate is in the order of the leading
to trailing surface with respect to cyclic loading and three point bend test. The 0 lay at the boundary
constrains the propagation of through the thickness crack [5] and retards interlayer debonding.

Figure.1 Layup cross section Figure.2 Test Specimen

The laminates are prepared using glass fibre rowing of 1100 gsm, epoxy resin HY995 and
hardener LY556 with 25% fibre volume fraction to a size of 300x300 mm2. The laminate
preparation is carried out between two glass plates and cured for a period of 24 hours. The test
specimens are cut from the laminate to a size 150mmx10mmx5mm (Fig. 2).The experimental work
comprises of two stages: first stage involves the determination of static FM and DF of the virgin
specimen and the second is the determination of the same after specific loading cycles to find the
effect of parameters like lay-up configuration, loading frequency and cycles.

Flexural Modulus (FM)

The FM of the pre and post cyclic loaded specimen are obtained by a three point bend test as per
ASTM D 790(Fig. 3)with a crosshead speed of 1mm/min using the below mentioned formula. An
average of five test results has been utilised for the analysis and discussion. The maximum flexural
deflection of the virgin specimen has been utilized to fix the amplitude of cyclic loading to be
within safe limit for all configurations.

E= mL3/4bd3 E= Flexural Modulus [kN/mm2]

m=Slope of load deflection curve of 3PB test
b= Specimen width=10mm, d= Specimen thickness=5 mm,
L= Specimen span length =100mm.

Damping Factor (DF) η

The DF of the specimens is obtained from the ratio of energy dissipation(Ed) to that of maximum
potential energy stored (Ep). The load/ unload deflection test data of the specimen for a fixed
maximum load with uniform increments was utilized to plot the hysteresis loop(Fig. 4&5).The Ed
corresponds to the area enclosed by the hysteresis loop[12]. The area under the loading curve of the
hysteresis loop gives the stored energy Ep. The computation of Ed/Ep (trapezoidal summation) and
DF are by the following formulae (refer with: Eq. 1, Eq. 2, Eq. 3) widely used in the literature [11].
 Applied Mechanics and Materials Vol. 787 545

Static response of the GFRP Composite Laminate

FM and DF of the virgin specimen are given in Table.1.Layup A, with homogeneous 0 fibre
orientation exhibit higher FM of all. Unlike A, all other laminates exhibit lower order flexural
resistance owing to the influence of the fibre orientation in the layup [6].
Table: 1 Flexural Modulus and damping of Virgin Specimen
Flexural Damping
Modulus Factor(DF)
Label Ply Orientation Vf
(FM) η
[kN/mm2]
A 0/R/0/0/0 41.14 0.44
B 0/R/30/60/0 25 39.82 0.67
C 0/R/45/-45/0 % 31.53 0.85
Figure.3 Three Point Bend Test D 0/R/90/90/0 28.42 0.86

Figure. 4 Load deflection set up Figure.5 Load /unload curve Figure. 6 Cyclic Load- Set Up
(Hysteresis loop)
1 n di = displacement during ith stage
Ep = ∑ (d − d )[f(d + fd )] (1)
2 i =1 i +1 i i +1 i di+1 = displacement during i+1 th stage
1 n (2) f (di, di+1) = load on loading path during
E = ∑ (d − d ){[f(d ) + f(d )] − [g(d ) + g(d )]}
d 2 i=1 i+1 i i+1 i i+1 i i th and i+1 th stage.
Ed (3) g (di, di+1) = load on unloading path
DF = η =
2 ∏ Ep during ith and i+1 thstage.

The large fibre interaction angle within the core of C&D laminates is responsible for the reduction
of FM [5]. The DF is found to be increasing from A to D, presenting an opposite trend with respect
to FM. The DF of C and D are nearly similar due to their week core.
Cyclic Loading
The loading on a leaf spring by road tyre interaction has been experimentally simulated on the
specimen configured as a cantilever beam with a cyclic load at the free end. Low velocity, constant
amplitude cyclic loading was imposed on the GFRP specimen using an eccentric disc with an
eccentricity of 3 mm in a radial drilling machine set up (Fig. 6) rotating at 275 rpm and 516 rpm to
the yield loading frequency of 4.6 Hz and 8.6 Hz respectively. The loading was applied sequentially
up to around 50,000 cycles at both the frequencies.
Significance of cyclic loading on Flexural Modulus (FM) and Damping Factor (DF)

The loading axis is transverse to the specimen plane that predominantly produces matrix crazing,
followed by cracking, interlaminar/intralaminar debonding, and fibre failure. The effect of loading
on the specimen and the induced changes are identified by the increasing DF and reducing FM.
546 Alternative Energy Sources, Materials and Technologies

1. Typically monitored FM and DF of A laminate on cyclic loading is shown in the Fig.7 a. The
FM shows a gradual reduction on cyclic loading for both the frequency with an observed marginal
deviation from one another between 10*103 cycles and 40*103 cycles. Beyond that, effect of
loading frequency on FM is not noticed. This shows the point of saturation within the FM variation
with respect to frequency. The DF increases uniformly [11] for both the loading frequencies with no
deviation.

a b

c d

Figure. 7 Flexural Modulus and Damping Factor a) 0/R/0/0/0,

b) 0/R/30/60/0, c) 0/R/45/-45/0, d) 0/R/90/90/0.
2. Fig. 7 b and c, depicts the FM and DF on cyclic loading of the angle ply laminate B and C
respectively. In B, marginal deviation within the FM for the loading frequency is noted solely
throughout the initial stage around 20*103 cycles and thereafter no deviation in FM as observed in
A. The DF shows steep rise at a higher loading frequency (8.6 Hz) and a gradual rise at lower
loading frequency (4.6 Hz).The monitored FM of C (Fig. 7 c) shows a gradual degradation on
loading with negligible variation to the loading frequencies. The presence of 45/-45 core, having 90
0
interaction angle induces reduction in the FM on loading. The influence of loading frequency is
predominant only after 30*103 cycles and presents a different trend with respect to A and B. The DF
tends to increase with notable variation.
3. Fig.7 d, gives the response of cross ply. Unlike the other layup, the effect of frequency on FM is
witnessed from the initial loading cycles. The orthogonal interaction within the layup core initiates
the degradation of specimen. The DF gradually rises for both the loading frequencies as similar to
0/R/45/-45/0.
Conclusion
Response in terms of FM and DF of the GFRP composite laminate of specific layup
configuration on exposure to loading at 4.6 Hz and 8.6 Hz, simulating the leaf of an automobile leaf
spring has been carried out and the following concluding remarks are made.
The drop in FM and rise in DF depicts the changes that took place within the fibre/matrix system
on loading. The energy of loading is absorbed by the resin (matrix) ‘R’ within the layup and
 Applied Mechanics and Materials Vol. 787 547

dissipated as matrix crack. The induced matrix cracks in A are constrained [1] by the 00 fibre
orientation in the layup which produces minimal variation in FM with loading cycles. Reduced
constrains offered by 300 and 600fibre orientations in B propagates the crack to the adjacent layer
with less fibre damage [4] resulting in DF rise and negligible FM deviation. In C and D due to
orthogonal interaction, crack propagates to the adjacent layer results in high DF and poor FM on
loading. The resin ‘R’ within the layup acts as a region of cushion to absorb the loading, producing
negligible deviation in FM and improved DF. Thus the fibre orientation in layup along with ‘R’ has
controlled influence on operating parameters like loading frequency and loading cycles that helps in
the design of the composite spring with optimum FM and DF.
References
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stiffness degradation, and surface temperature distribution of tensile fatigue loaded glass-fibre non
crimp- fabric reinforced epoxy, Compos. Struct. 37 (2006) 222-228.
[3] Jacques Renard, Alain Thionnet, Damage in composites: From physical mechanism to
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responses of composite laminates, Compos. Struct. 89 (2009) 443-447.
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characterization of composite laminate, Composites: Part B. 45(2013) 528-537.
Alternative Energy Sources, Materials and Technologies
10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.787

Effect of Cyclic Loading Frequency on Flexural Modulus of GFRP Laminates with Resin Rich
Intermediate Layers
10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.787.543

DOI References
[1] J. Wang, B. L. Karihaloo, Matrix induced delamination in composite laminate under transverse loading,
Compos. Struct. 38 (1997) 661-666.
10.1016/s0263-8223(97)00103-7
[2] Andreas Gael, Dirk Lange, Karl Schulte, On the relation between matrix crack densities, stiffness
degradation, and surface temperature distribution of tensile fatigue loaded glass-fibre non crimp- fabric
reinforced epoxy, Compos. Struct. 37 (2006).
10.1016/j.compositesa.2005.03.028
[3] Jacques Renard, Alain Thionnet, Damage in composites: From physical mechanism to modelling, Comp.
Sci. Tech. 66 (2006) 642-646.
10.1016/j.compscitech.2005.07.035
[4] Tong Yuanjian, D.H. Isaac, Combined impact and fatigue of glass reinforced composites, Composites:
Part B. 39 (2008) 505-512.
10.1016/j.compositesb.2007.03.005
[5] B. Pradhan, N. Venukumar, N.S. Rao, Stiffness degradation resulting from 900 ply cracking in angle ply
composite laminate, Comp. Sci. Tech. 59 (1999) 1543-1552.
10.1016/s0266-3538(99)00021-4
[6] Tomohiro Yokozeki, Takahira Aoki, Toshio Ogasawara, Takashi Ishikawa, Effect of layup angle and ply
thickness on matrix crack interaction in contiguous plies of composite laminates, Composites: Part A. 36
(2005) 1229-1235.
10.1016/j.compositesa.2005.02.002
[7] J.M.M. de Kok, H.E.H. Meijer, Deformation, yield and fracture of unidirectional composites in transverse
loading 1. Influence of fibre volume fraction and test temperature, Composites: Part A. 30(1999) 905-916.
10.1016/s1359-835x(98)00170-5
[8] Raif Sakin, Irfan Ay, Ramazan Yaman, An investigation of bending fatigue behaviour for glass- fiber
reinforced polyester composite materials, Mater. Des. 29 (2008) 212-217.
10.1016/j.matdes.2006.11.006
[9] Jean- Marie Berthelot and Youssef Sefrani. Longitudinal and transverse damping of unidirectional fibre
composites, Compos. Struct. 79 (2007) 423-431.
10.1016/j.compstruct.2006.02.006
[11] Jong Hee Yim, Shee Yong Cho, Yun Jong Seo, Bor. Z. Jang, A study on material damping of 0 0
laminated composite cantilever beams with a viscoelastic layer, Compos. Struct. 60(2003) 367374.
10.1016/s0263-8223(03)00051-5
[12] M. Idriss, A. El Mahi, M. Assarar, R. El Gurejouma, Damping analysis in cyclic fatigue loading of
sandwich beams with debonding, Composite : part B. 44 (2013) 597-603.
10.1016/j.compositesb.2012.02.024
[13] Z. Zhang and G. Hartwig, Relation of damping and fatigue of unidirectional fibre composite, Int. J.
Fatigue 24 (2002) 713-718.
10.1016/s0142-1123(01)00206-7
[14] Jia-Lin Tsai and Nai-Ren Chang, 2D analytical model for characterizing flexural damping responses of
composite laminates, Compos. Struct. 89 (2009) 443-447.
10.1016/j.compstruct.2008.09.003
[15] M. Naderi and M.M. Khonsari, On the role of damage energy in the fatigue degradation characterization
of composite laminate, Composites: Part B. 45(2013) 528-537.
10.1016/j.compositesb.2012.07.028