In-situ Full Field Out of Plane Displacement and Strain Measurements at the Micro-Scale in Single Reinforcement Composites under Transverse Load

Micromechanics damage models applied to composites predict stresses and strains in the matrix and fibers as a function of the microstructure, constituting phases mechanical properties and load histories. Material parameters, like interface properties, are identified through inverse methods based on macroscopic stress-strain curves. Predictions are also benchmarked against macroscopic measurements. This situation does not capture local phenomena and hinders the robustness of the indentification/validation process. The purpose of this work is to provide full displacement and strain fields at the scale of a single fibre embedded into a matrix to allow the modelling community to either develop and identify micromechanics damage models or to benchmark their own predictions. Such data is critically lacking in the community. To that end, we have investigated three single fibers having radically different bonding strength with epoxy in addition to a bundle of about a hundred carbon fibers that were used as reinforcements of standard “dogbone” epoxy specimens. A laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) is used for micro digital image correlation (μDIC) during in-situ quasi-static tests of single-reinforcement dogbone specimens. For all specimens, damage initiated with fiber debonding at the free surface along the tensile direction. The crack then propagates around the interface while slightly growing along the fiber. The interfacial crack is shown to grow faster for couples with weak interfacial bonding. Strong fiber / matrix bonding is shown to stop Mode II transverse interfacial debonding which significantly delays specimen failure. Analysis of the LSCM micrographs with μDIC is used to provide measurements of displacements, strains, and measure depth during each test. The importance of out of plane displacements in interfacial debonding is highlighted. Out of plane displacement is shown to play a role in interfacial crack opening and growth and ought to be considered when studying or modeling damage in FRCs. μDIC is shown to be a promising technique to provide a better understanding of the damage mechanisms at the fiber or bundle scales and to determine interfacial toughness of a specific fibre / matrix couple in order to perform accurate damage modeling in FRCs. Displacement, strain, and confidence field results for each pixel from each experiment and at each time step are also provided in an extensive data package for detailed comparison with simulation results.