An Investigation of Failure Criterion for New Orthotropic Ceramic Matrix Composite Materials

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to further study the Yeh-Stratton failure criterion for the application to the newly developed ceramic matrix composite (CMC). In this study, the failure analysis of notched orthogonal composite laminates under uniaxial tensile loading is examined with the Yeh-Stratton criterion. The Yeh-Stratton failure predictions are compared to several other fracture criteria including Tsai-Hill, Tsai-Wu, Cowin, Hoffman, Fischer, Chang and Chang, Hashin and Rotem Criterion, and Hashin. The materials being examined are fiber-reinforced orthotropic composites, each with a central crack. The first material is a ceramic matrix composite of interest in the aerospace industry. The second material in this study is a graphite/epoxy AS4/3502 [0/902/0]. Testing of both fiber reinforced CMC [0/90] and AS4/3502 [0/902/0] laminates containing central cracks and under tensile loading conditions were analytically investigated by the failure criteria and evaluated against the experimental results. The Yeh-Stratton criterion proved, in this study, to be an accurate means of predicting the fracture stress of a notched orthogonal composite laminate.