Experimental study of the mechanical behavior of carbon fiber, fabrics reinforced thermoplastic and thermoset composites materials

Abstract EN

In order to tackle the issues associated with the use of thermosetting resins (storage, difficult reticulation process, handmade draping, irreversible defects), high performance thermoplastic resins are now being considered for applications in aeronautics.

Indeed, it is possible to get thermoplastic based laminates with various shapes in few stages thanks to a thermoforming process.

Thus, their mechanical behavior needs to be investigated.

This study aims at comparing the mechanical behavior of two aeronautical laminates submitted to different stress states.

The studied composite materials consist of two different materials for the matrix : epoxy (thermosetting resin) or PPS (high performance thermoplastic resin).

The matrix was reinforced with the same carbon fiber satin fabrics.

Beyond the usual tests performed on composite materials to get the elastic properties, single bolt double lap bolted joint (bearing test) and single-bolt single lap bolted joint tests were carried out.

Such tests are very important for the design of composite laminates usually joined with bolts or rivets for aeronautical applications.