In-plane shear strength of single-lap co-cured joints of self-reinforced polyethylene composites

• Autor(a) principal: Camargo, Felipe Vannucchi de
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Fernandes, Eduardo da Silva, Ten Caten, Carla Schwengber, Alves, Annelise Kopp, Bergmann, Carlos Perez, Minak, Giangiacomo
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRGS
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10183/219942
• topic: Análise de tensões; Propriedades mecânicas; Compósitos termoplásticos; Cisalhamento; Stress analysis; Mechanical properties; Thermoplastic composites; Design of experiment; UHMWPE; LDPE

The present study introduces the analysis of single-lap co-cured joints of thermoplastic selfreinforced composites made with reprocessed low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and reinforced by ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers, along with a micromechanical analysis of its constituents. A set of optimal processing conditions for manufacturing these joints by hot-press is proposed through a design of experiment using the response surface method to maximize their in-plane shear strength by carrying tensile tests on co-cured tapes. Optimal processing conditions were found at 1 bar, 115 ◦C, and 300 s, yielding joints with 6.88 MPa of shear strength. The shear failure is generally preceded by multiple debonding-induced longitudinal cracks both inside and outside the joint due to accumulated transversal stress. This composite demonstrated to be an interesting structural material to be more widely applied in industry, possessing extremely elevated specific mechanical properties, progressive damage of co-cured joints (thus avoiding unannounced catastrophic failures) and ultimate recyclability.