Abstract: Study on delamination in composite material is used to express the fracture behavior of the composite material. Since the strength of resin is lower than the lamina strength, failure may be expected to start at interface. But it is hard to predict the failure of composite due to anisotropic nature. The Mode I failure behaviour influence the ensuring delamination propagation and mode II ensures the crack initiation. It is therefore important to analyze each mode separately. The main objective is to analyze the influence of alumina filler on energy release rate (G) of Chopped Strand Mat E-Glass FRP resin matrix composites. The alumina filled CSM E-Glass epoxy composite is fabricated by using hand layup process with an initial crack of 50 mm. The epoxy resin and hardener are mixed in the weight ratio of 10:1. Energy release rate is evaluated for four different proportions of alumina filler in CSM E-Glass epoxy composite. For each proportion three ENF specimens have been prepared. End notched flexure (ENF) specimen is used to evaluate Energy release rate under mode II according to ASTM D5528 standard. The compressive test has been carried out on the fabricated specimens and deflection values for the applied load are measured. The effect of alumina filler on energy release rate of CSM E-Glass epoxy composite is determined. The numerical analyses are done by using ANSYS 15.0 software based on cohesive zone modeling (CZM) technique. Cohesive zone modeling is used to predict the Mode-II delamination energy release rate in laminated composite. The numerical results are verified with the relevant experimental results.
 
Key words: Chopped Strand Mat (CSM), Alumina filler, E-Glass fiber, Delamination, Energy release rate, End notched flexure specimen, Mode II.

Cite: C. Panneerselvam, M. Gopala Krishnan, and S. Gaudham Babu, "Analysis of Particle Influence on Energy Release Rate of CSM E-Glass/Epoxy Composite Laminates," International Journal of Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 24-34, March 2016. doi: 10.17706/ijmse.2016.4.1.24-34