MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BONE-SHAPED-SHORT-FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITES

Short-fiber composites usually have low strength and toughness relative to continuous fiber composites, an intrinsic problem caused by discontinuities at fiber ends and interfacial debonding. In this work a model polyethylene bone-shaped-short (BSS) fiber-reinforced polyester-matrix composite was fabricated to prove that fiber morphology, instead of interfacial strength, solves this problem. Experimental tensile and fracture toughness test results show that BSS fibers can bridge matrix cracks more effectively, and consume many times more energy when pulled out, than conventional straight short (CSS) fibers. This leads to both higher strength and fracture toughness for the BSS-fiber composites. A computational model was developed to simulate crack propagation in both BSS- and CSS-fiber composites, accounting for stress concentrations, interface debonding, and fiber pull-out. Model predictions were validated by experimental results and will be useful in optimizing BSS-fiber morphology and other material system parameters.