Characterisation of the mechanical and fracture properties of a uni-weave carbon fibre/epoxy non-crimp fabric composite Academic research paper on "Materials engineering"

Data Article

Characterisation of the mechanical and fracture properties of a uni-weave carbon fibre/epoxy non-crimp fabric composite

Thomas Bru a,b*, Peter Hellström a, Renaud Gutkin a, Dimitra Ramantania, Göran Peterson c

a Swerea SICOMP, P.O. Box 104, 431 22 Mölndal, Sweden

b Division of Material and Computational Mechanics, Department of Applied Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden

c Volvo Group Trucks Technology, Department 26547, AB2V, 405 08 Göteborg, Sweden

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

A complete database of the mechanical properties of an epoxy polymer reinforced with uni-weave carbon fibre non-crimp fabric (NCF) is established. In-plane and through-the-thickness tests were performed on unidirectional laminates under normal loading and shear loading. The response under cyclic shear loading was also measured. The material has been characterised in terms of stiffness, strength, and failure features for the different loading cases. The critical energy release rates associated with different failure modes in the material were measured from interlaminar and translaminar fracture toughness tests. The stress-strain data of the tensile, compressive, and shear test specimens are included. The load-deflection data for all fracture toughness tests are also included. The database can be used in the development and validation of analytical and numerical models of fibre reinforced plastics (FRPs), in particular FRPs with NCF reinforcements.

© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Data in Brief

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/dib

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Article history: Received 29 December 2015 Accepted 7 January 2016 Available online 15 January 2016

Keywords:

Polymer matrix composite Carbon fibre Non-crimp fabric Mechanical testing Mechanical properties Stress/strain curve Fracture toughness

* Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: thomas.bru@swerea.se (T. Bru), peter.hellstrom@swerea.se (P. Hellstrom), renaud.gutkin@swerea.se (R. Gutkin), dimitra.ramantani@swerea.se (D. Ramantani), goran.peterson.2@volvo.com (G. Peterson).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2016.01.010

2352-3409/© 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/40/).

Specifications Table

Subject area Composite materials

More specific sub- Material characterisation/mechanics of composite materials

ject area

Type of data Table and graphs, pictures

How data was Universal testing machines, strain gauges (Showa N22-FA-5-120-H-VS2 for the

acquired in-plane tensile tests, Kyowa KFG-3-120-C1-11L3M3R for the compressive tests

and through-the-thickness tensile tests), DIC system (ARAMIS 2M(-5M) from

GOM GmbH), travelling microscope

Data format Raw data in CSV format and post-processed data in tables and graphs

Experimental Mechanical and fracture properties a uni-weave NCF composite material

factors

Experimental Stress/strain response, stiffness, strength, fracture toughness, failure features

features

Data source Sweden

location

Data accessibility Data are included in this article

Value of the data

• This data set presents a complete mechanical characterisation of a CFRP system.

• The data can be used as input properties in analytical models.

• The data can be used as input parameters in finite element analyses and used for validation of results.

• The data can be compared to already available data for others CFRPs. The data can also be used in the development of future CFRPs, in particular those with NCF reinforcements.

• Guidelines for the mechanical and fracture characterisation of a given FRP material are provided.

1. Data

The stress-strain curves under the following loading cases are presented:

• in-plane longitudinal tension

• in-plane longitudinal compression

• in-plane transverse tension

• in-plane transverse compression

• through-the-thickness (TT) tension

• TT compression

• in-plane shear

• TT shear

The following terminology is used: 1-index refers to the longitudinal (to the fibre) direction in the reinforcement plane, 2-index refers to the transverse direction in the reinforcement plane, and 3-index refers to the TT direction w.r.t. the reinforcement plane. The stiffness and strength values are extracted from the stress-strain curves, and the specimen failure features reported.

Abbreviations: Avg, average; CC, compact compression; CFRP, carbon fibre reinforced plastic; CNC, computer numerical control; CT, compact tension; CV, coefficient of variation; DCB, double cantilever beam; DIC, digital image correlation; ENF, end notched flexure; FRP, fibre reinforced plastic; FVF, fibre volume fraction; MMB, mixed-mode bending; NCF, non-crimp fabric; NL, nonlinearity method; Peak, maximum peak method; R-curve, crack resistance curves; RTM, resin transfer moulding; TT, through-the-thickness; VI, vacuum infusion; VO, visual observation method

Load-deflection curves are obtained from interlaminar fracture toughness tests in mode I, mode II and mixed-mode, and from translaminar fracture toughness tests. The energy release rates associated with the initiation of crack growth for the different tests are reported, as well as the crack resistance curves (R-curves).

The dimensions of the tests specimens are reported in Appendix A. The raw data for all test specimens are provided in CSV files in Appendix B.

2. Materials

The carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) material system is an HTS45/LY556. The Hunstman LY556 epoxy resin was supplied by ABIC Kemi AB. The reinforcement layer is a 205 GSM uni-weave non-crimp fabric (NCF), from Porcher Industries. It consists of HTS45 E23 Tenax® carbon fibre bundles, which are held together by glass fibre/polyamide weft threads (Fig. 1). HTS45/LY556 laminates were manufactured by resin transfer moulding (RTM) and vacuum infusion (VI) processes, according to the epoxy resin manufacturer's recommendation. All the test specimens needed to build the data set were prepared from the laminates listed in Table 1. The fibre volume fraction (FVF) was estimated from the laminate thickness, the laminate layup, the area weight of the carbon fibres in the NCF, and the density of carbon fibres (data provided in [1,2]).

3. Experimental design and methods

3.1. In-plane tensile and compressive properties

The test procedure for the tensile and compressive in-plane tests followed the ASTM standard D 3039 [3] and the ASTM standard D 3410 [4], respectively. Both longitudinal and transverse properties were measured. All specimens were tabbed with 1 mm thick glass fibre/epoxy laminates and equipped with strain gauges. The compressive specimens were initially polished to eliminate free edge effects.

Table 2 and Fig. 2 report the results of the tests. The specimen bending in the gauge section, By, was evaluated in the compressive tests from the back-to-back strain measurements, according to the standard recommendation (Eq. 2 in [4]). Only the average between the two strain gauge readings was

Fig. 1. Photograph of the uni-weave NCF.

Table 1

Plate specifications.

Plate Layup Thickness (mm) FVF (%) Manufacturing process Cure+post-cure Cure pressure (bar)

UD1 [0]io 1.83 61 RTM 4 h 80 °C+4 h 140 °C 3

UD2 [0] 187 35/38 55/60a VI 4 h 80 °C+4 h 140 °C 0.5

UD3b [0]i6 3.04 59 RTM 18 h 80 °C+4 h 140 °C 3

CP1 [0/90]ss 4.05 55 RTM 18h 80 °C + 4 h 140 °C 3

a Considering 35 and 38 mm for the laminate thickness. b 7.5 micron polyimide film insert in the midplane of the laminate.

Table 2

In-plane tensile/compressive properties.

Specimen Modulus Poisson ratio Strength Strain at failure Fracture angle a Bending, By (%)

Transverse E22c (GPa) Yc (MPa) S22ai (%) a0 (deg) (0.2%e) (e22eu)

compression (0-0.3%e)

cy1 9.4 118 1.48 65 _ _

cy2 8.5 114 1.47 53 2.2 -1.5

cy3 9.2 139 1.89 70 -0.5 2.4

cy4 9.7 140 1.79 64 2.5 7.5

cy5 9.7 133 1.78 56 3.5 8.5

cy6 9.0 138 1.88 65 5.6 3.8

Avg. (CV) 9.3 (5%) 130 (9%) 1.71 (11%) 62 (10%)

Longitudinal compression Eue (GPa) (0.1-0.2%e) Xe (MPa) £11cu (%) (0.2%e) (®11eu)

cx1 134 591 0.45 3.8 3.6

cx2 137 703 0.53 6.4 14.0

cx3 135 579 0.43 -6.8 6.5

cx4 129 572 0.43 3.8 1.8

cx5 127 649 0.52 4.6 11.4

cx6 130 690 0.55 -26.2 29.5

Avg. (CV) 132 (3%) 631 (9%) 0.49 (11%)

Transverse E22t (GPa) V21 (-) Yt (MPa) £22tu (%)

tension (0.05-0.2%e) (0.05-0.2%e)

ty1 9.6 0.032 27.8 0.29

ty2 9.6 0.027 28.8 0.32

ty3 7.8 - 30.3 0.36

ty4 —b —b 29.3 -b

ty5 8.8 - 29.7 0.33

Avg. (CV) 9.0 (10%) 0.029 (12%) 29.2 (3%) 0.32 (9%)

Longitudinal tension Eut (GPa) (0.1-0.3%e) V12 (-) (0.1-0.3%e) Xt (MPa) emu (%)

tx1 129 0.23 1506 1.10

tx2 152 0.34 1889 1.23

tx3 146 0.25 1891 1.29

tx4 136 0.27 1851 1.25

tx5 137 0.33 1796 1.26

Avg. (CV) 140 (6%) 0.28 (17%) 1787 (9%) 1.23 (6%)

a Defined in Fig. 3(d). b No strain reading.

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 -2.0 -1.5 -1.0 -0.5 0.0

Strain, S22 (%) Strain, s22 (%)

Fig. 2. Stress-strain curves of the in-plane tensile and compressive tests; (a) longitudinal tension, (b) longitudinal compression, (c) transverse tension, and (d) transverse compression.

considered to construct the stress-strain curve. In the tensile tests, the strain transverse to the loading direction was also measured to evaluate the Poisson's ratios of the FRP material.

Longitudinal tensile specimens exhibited broom-like fracture, Fig. 3(a). Transverse tensile specimens failed in the gauge section at the end of the tabs, Fig. 3(b). Longitudinal compressive specimens failed by kink-band formation resulting in a stepped fracture surface, Fig. 3(c). Finally, transverse compressive specimens failed in a localised way with a smooth fracture surface oriented with an angle a0 to the direction transverse to the loading, Fig. 3(d).

3.2. Shear properties

Iosipescu tests, documented with the ASTM standard D 5379 [5], were performed to evaluate the material response under in-plane and TT shear (in the 1 -3 plane) loading. The data was extracted from monotonic tests and cyclic tests. The latter consists of unloading/reloading cycles with an increasing level of applied load. The specimens were prepared with the fibres oriented along the specimen length. The specimens for in-plane shear testing were tabbed with a 1 mm thick glass fibre/ epoxy laminate outside the notched region to increase their load bearing capacity. The material

Fig. 3. Specimen failures observed in in-plane tests; (a) longitudinal tension, (b) transverse tension, (c) longitudinal compression, and (d) transverse compression.

Fig. 4. Failure of an in-plane Iosipescu specimen with the full-field strain measurements from the DIC system.

orthotropic ratios E^ and E^ were used to determine the opening angle of in-plane and TT shear specimens, according to the rescaling procedure proposed by Melin and Neumeister [6]. During the tests, the shear strain was determined by averaging strain measurements from the digital image correlation (DIC) system over a narrow band spanning the notch-to-notch axis of the specimen.

The failure mode of the Iosipescu specimens was premature failure at the notches by splitting, followed by shear failure in the gauge section (Fig. 4). This failure mode is described as an acceptable failure mode in the test standard [5]. The shear data, reported in Table 3 and Fig. 5, indicate that the shear strength of the material is close to the splitting stress of the specimen. In some specimens shear failure occurred prior to splitting failure.

3.3. Interlaminar fracture toughness properties

Double cantilever beam (DCB), end notched flexure (ENF) and mixed-mode bending (MMB) interlaminar fracture toughness tests are documented by test method standards [7-9]. A mode mixity

Table 3

In-plane shear and TT shear properties.

Test/specimen Modulus Strength Strain Shear Shear

at stress at strain at

failure splitting splitting

In-plane shear G12 (GPa) S12 (MPa) Y12u (%) (MPa) (%)

(monotonic) (0.2-0.4%y)

xy1 4.8 79.8 11.3 74.1a 5.9a

xy2 4.5 79.0 9.2 76.2a 6.9a

xy3 4.1 75.7 7.4 75.7a 7.4a

xy4 4.2 76.8 8.7 72.0a 5.5a

Avg. (CV) 4.4 (7%) 77.8 (3%) 9.1 (18%) 74.5 (3%) 6.4 (14%)

In-plane shear G12 (GPa) S12 (MPa) Y12u (%) (MPa) (%)

(cyclic) (0.2-0.4%y)

xy5 4.2 72.2 11.1 68.5a 7.0a

xy6 4.5 73.3 10.1 66.1a 5.8a

xy7 4.2 74.8 11.4 69.0a 6.4a

xy8 4.3 71.8 9.3 69.3a 6.1a

Avg. (CV) 4.3 (3%) 73.0 (2%) 10.5 (9%) 68.2 (2%) 6.3 (8%)

TT shear G13 (GPa) S13 (MPa) Y13u (%) (MPa) (%)

(monotonic) (0.2-0.4%y)

xz1 3.8 59.4 3.4 59.3a 3.2a

xz2 3.9 54.5 2.6 51.2a 2.0a

xz3 3.5 53.3 2.2 52.0a 2.0a

xz4 3.4 59.8 3.2 59.8 3.2

xz5 3.9 56.4 3.0 56.4 3.0

Avg. (CV) 3.7 (6%) 56.7 (5%) 2.9 (17%) 55.7 (7%) 2.7 (24%)

TT shear G13 (GPa) S13 (MPa) Y13u (%) (MPa) (%)

(cyclic) (0.2-0.4%y)

xz6 b 56.0 2.5 42.5a 1.4a

xz7 3.9 50.4 2.1 - -

xz8 3.7 55.0 2.3 - -

xz9 4.0 53.0 2.5 53.0 2.5

xz10 3.5 54.1 2.4 54.1 2.4

Avg. (CV) 3.8 (6%) 53.7 (4%) 2.3 (7%) 49.8 (13%) 2.1 (29%)

a Stress and strain levels associated to the first split. b No load measurement in the range of modulus calculations.

of 0.5 was chosen for the MMB tests, i.e. GI = GII. For tests involving a mode I component, hinge caps were used instead of the standard piano hinges. In all test setups, the crack elongation was measured from the specimen edge with a travelling microscope.

The critical energy release rates GIc (mode I), GIIc (mode II), and Gc (mixed-mode) were calculated following the procedure detailed in section 12.1.1 in [7], section 9.1 in [8], and section in 12.3.1 [9], respectively. From the load-deflection curves in Fig. 6, the initiation value of the critical energy release rates in each test was determined using the visual observation (VO), maximum peak (Peak), 5%/Max, and nonlinearity (NL) methods [7-9]. The critical energy release rate values at crack initiation for the different tests are reported in Table 4. The R-curves, in Fig. 6, were constructed using the VO method. For ENF tests, the crack generally made a single large jump as far as the loading point at the middle of the specimen, so no crack propagation value was measured. For the mode I tests, the R-curves in Fig. 6(a) are converging towards a propagation value of 300J/m2.

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5

Engineering shear strain, y13 (%) Engineering shear strain, yn (%)

Fig. 5. Stress-strain curves of the shear tests; (a) monotonic in-plane shear, (b) cyclic in-plane shear, (c) monotonic TT shear, and (d) cyclic TT shear. For the cyclic tests the entire response is shown for one specimen, and the envelopes of the stress-strain curves are shown for the other specimens.

The fracture surfaces of DCB, ENF and MMB specimens were not perfectly flat but exhibited some waviness, which is specific of textile FRPs (Fig. 7). The formation of an undulating fracture surface is a toughness enhancing mechanism as it promotes slip-stick fracture processes.

3.4. TT tensile and compressive properties

The TT tensile and compressive data were extracted using the double waisted specimen design proposed by Ferguson et al. [10]. A 1/2 scale version of the original specimen produces accurate data [10], but a 3/4 scale version was chosen to ensure that a sufficient amount of bundles of the NCF were present over the specimen gauge width (Fig. 8). The specimens were machined by a CNC milling machine using diamond-coated tools.

Fig. 6. Load-deflection curves (left) and R-curves (right) obtained from (a) DCB tests, (b) ENF tests, and (c) MMB tests.

Table 4

Initiation values of the critical energy release rates from the interlaminar fracture toughness tests.

Test/specimen Initiation value for the critical energy release rate (J/m2)

DCB (mode I) VO 5%/Max NL

dcbl 144 147 143

dcb2 143 143 137

dcb3 160 165 153

Avg. (CV) 149 (6%) 152 (8%) 144 ( 6%)

ENF (mode II) VO Peak

enfl 740 900

enf2 551 607

enf3 613 614

enf4 713 721

enf5 834 854

Avg. (CV) 690 (16%) 739 (18%)

MMB (mixed-mode) VO Peak 5%/Max NL

mmbl 507 510 491 432

mmb2 179 476 304 304

mmb3 220 662 285 221

mmb4 122 603 246 199

Avg. (CV) 174'/257 (28/67%) 563 (15%) 332 (33%) 289 (37%)

* Excluding deviant value of 507 for specimen. A possible explanation for the high toughness measured for specimen mmb1 is the presence of a rather uneven crack surface observed just at the location of crack initiation. The high energy built up at this location is finally released once a sufficient load is achieved, resulting in an instantaneous crack growth over 8 mm (see R-curve in Fig. 6(c)).

Fig. 7. Crack path observed on a post-test MMB specimen. The initiation point indicates the end of the initial crack.

Table 5 reports the material data extracted from the stress-strain curves of the tensile and compressive tests (Fig. 9).

For the compressive tests, the specimens were simply loaded between two parallel platens in displacement control equivalent to an initial strain rate of approximately 2%/min. Back-to-back strain measurements and stereo DIC measurements indicated no specimen bending. The strains were averaged from the DIC measurements over the entire surface of constant gauge section. The surface monitored by the DIC system was not always the same in all specimens so that the evaluation of both Poisson's ratios v32 and v31 was possible.

For the tensile loading configuration, rod end bearings were attached to the universal testing machine to prevent the introduction of moments in the specimens. The specimen end surfaces were adhesively bonded to two steel plates connected to the bearings. Strain gauges were bonded at the centre of the wider surfaces of the specimen, and the average of the two strain readings was considered to construct the stress-strain curves. In two specimens, the strain gauges produced inaccurate signals and the strain data were discarded. However, the strength values associated with these two specimens are considered reliable.

Fig. 8. Dimensions of the double waisted specimens.

Table 5

TT tensile/compressive properties.

Test/Specimen Modulus Poisson ratio Strength Strain at failure Failure angle

Compression Esse (GPa) (0.4-0.7%e) V32 (-) (0.4-0.7%e) V31 (-) (0.4-0.7%e) Zc (MPa) £33cu (%) ¿0 (deg)

cz1 7.7 0.43 204 5.03 56a

cz2 9.0 0.43 195 3.85 53b

cz3 7.9 0.02 206 3.50 54b

cz4 8.0 0.02 206 3.36 56a

cz5 7.9 0.02 203 3.34 52a

Avg. (CV) 8.1 (6%) 0.43 (0%) 0.02 (0%) 203 (2%) 3.81 (19%) 54 (4%)

Tension E33t (GPa) Zt (MPa) £33tu (%)

(0.01-0.05%e)

tz1 7.1 15.7 0.24

tz2 7.1 15.4 0.22

tz3 7.8 16.4 0.23

tz4 c 13.1 c

tz5 c 13.0 c

Avg. (CV) 7.3 (5%) 14.7 (11%) 0.23 (5%)

a Failure mode B, according to Fig. 10(b). The average of the two fracture plane angles is used. b Failure mode A, according to Fig. 10(b). c No strain reading.

Fig. 10 shows the different specimen failure modes observed during testing. The adhesive bond remained intact in all tensile specimens, which fractured in a region close to the waist radius (Fig. 10 (a)). Two failure modes were observed in the compressive case, Fig. 10 (b), and a fracture angle, A0, was defined.

3.5. Translaminar fracture toughness properties

The test procedure described by Pinho et al. [11] was followed to determine the energy associated with fibre breakage in tension and in compression, using compact tension (CT) and compact

Failure A Failure B

Fig. 10. Failure of the double waisted specimens; in tension (a), and in compression (b).

Fig. 11. Dimensions of the CT specimens (a) and CC specimens (b); in mm.

Table 6

Initiation values of the critical energy release rates from the translaminar fracture toughness tests.

Test/Specimen Initiation value for the critical energy

release rate (kJ/m2)

Compact compression GIc| lamcompressive GIc| 0°compressive

cc1 53.7 107.1

cc2 49.8 99.2

Avg. (CV) 51.8 (5%) 103.1 (5%)

Compact tension GIc|lamtensile GIc|0°tensiie

ct1 32.3 64.1

ct2 35.2 70.0

Avg. (CV) 33.7 (6%) 67.1 (6%)

compression (CC) specimens, respectively. Fig. 11 shows the geometry of the specimens. The machining of the notches was as follows: first a circular saw was used to make a wide cut, then a 0.5 mm wide notch was achieved using a precision low-speed saw (only for CT specimens), and finally a razor blade was used to create a sharp pre-crack. During testing, the load was introduced using steel cylinders through the holes of the CT/CC specimen.

Cross-ply specimens are needed to prevent splitting at the notch when the crack initiates. The data reduction scheme, based on Eqs. (1)-(3), was followed to extract the critical energy release rate for the 0°-plies in tension and in compression. In Eq. (1), the critical energy release rate for the laminate is calculated from the measurement of the critical load Pc at crack initiation. t is the thickness of each specimen. The unit energy release rate GI|unit is found by calculating the J-integral of the specimen configuration (geometry and layup considered) with finite element methods.

G Gi|unitp2 m GIc|lam — -12-

From the critical energy release rate for the laminate, the critical energy release rate for the 0°-plies is found using Eqs. (2) and (3), respectively,

GIc|0°tensile = GIc|lamtensile--I— GIc,in (2)

t0° t0°

G - t G ^/2t90° G

tJIc|0°compressive — ^ ^Icllamcompressive ^ tJIIc,in (J)

t0° t0°

where t0° is the total thickness of the 0°-plies, and t90° the total thickness of 90°-plies. The values for GIc in and GIIc in were taken from in Table 4. The results from the data reduction scheme are presented in Table 6.

Acknowledgements

The work performed within the following projects contributed to the construction of the present database: "Compcrash" project, Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten), project number 34181-1 ; "SAFEJOINT" project, European Commission under FP7, grant agreement number 310498; "FFI crash" project, VINNOVA, Sweden, Dnr 2012-03673; "FALS" project, VINNOVA, Sweden, Dnr 2014-03929.

The authors would like to thank Runar Lànstrom and Erik Sandlund for the manufacturing of the plates and test specimens, as well as Fredrik Ahlqvist for his assistance in mechanical testing.

Appendix A. See Table 7 for specimen information.

Table 7

Information on the test specimens.

Specimen

Thickness (mm)

Width (mm)

Gauge length (mm)

Comments

Transverse compression

cy1 UD1

cy2 UD1

cy3 UD1

cy4 UD1

cy5 UD1

cy6 UD1 Longitudinal compression

cx1 UD1

cx2 UD1

cx3 UD1

cx4 UD1

cx5 UD1

cx6 UD1 Transverse tension

ty1 UD1

ty2 UD1

ty3 UD1

ty4 UD1

ty5 UD1 Longitudinal tension

tx1 UD1

tx2 UD1

75 75 78

80 80 83 81 87

9.78 9.87 9.81

9.79 9.81

9.91 9.86

25.00 25.00 14.95 24.80 24.20

11.99 12.02

10.29 10.70 10.89 10.46 10.74 10.45

10.15 10.21 10.17

10.16 10.20 10.22

125 125

124 122

One strain gauge

One strain gauge No strain gauge One strain gauge

Table 7 (continued )

Specimen Plate Thickness Width Gauge Comments

(mm) (mm) length

tx3 UD1 1.81 12.02 90 _

tx4 UD1 1.80 12.04 90 -

tx5 UD1 1.80 11.96 86 -

Specimen Plate Thickness Gauge length Notch Comments

(mm) (mm) angle(°)

In-plane shear (monotonic)

xy1 UD1 1.85 12.11 141 -

xy2 UD1 1.76 12.14 141 -

xy3 UD1 1.80 12.17 141 -

xy4 UD1 1.79 12.16 141 -

In-plane shear (cyclic)

xy5 UD1 1.87 12.23 141 20 cycles

xy6 UD1 1.85 12.24 141 24 cycles

xy7 UD1 1.85 12.17 141 21 cycles

xy8 UD1 1.85 12.19 141 21 cycles

TT shear (monotonic)

xz1 UD2 4.19 11.38 142 -

xz2 UD2 4.17 11.38 142 -

xz3 UD2 4.07 11.32 142 -

xz4 UD2 3.91 10.57 142 -

xz5 UD2 4.17 11.30 142 -

TT shear (cyclic)

xz6 UD2 4.27 11.32 142 15 cycles (1)

xz7 UD2 4.31 11.32 142 10 cycles

xz8 UD2 4.11 11.23 142 11 cycles

xz9 UD2 4.20 11.34 142 12 cycles

xz10 UD2 4.04 11.25 142 12 cycles

(1) Only the last 4 cycles recorded.

Specimen Plate Initial crack Thickness Width Length (mm)

length (1) (mm) (mm)

DCB (mode I)

dcb1 UD3 48.9 3.05 19.72 Approx. 180

dcb2 UD3 48.6 3.04 19.64 Approx. 180

dcb3 UD3 48.8 3.03 19.67 Approx. 180

ENF (mode II)

enf1 UD3 35 3.04 19.74 Approx. 180

enf2 UD3 35 3.05 19.75 Approx. 180

enf3 UD3 36 3.06 19.73 Approx. 180

enf4 UD3 36 3.02 19.73 Approx. 180

enf5 UD3 35 3.04 19.73 Approx. 180

MMB (mixed-mode)

mmbl UD3 28.8 3.03 19.71 Approx. 160

mmb2 UD3 28.5 3.02 19.72 Approx. 160

mmb3 UD3 27.4 3.03 19.68 Approx. 160

mmb4 UD3 27.6 3.02 19.71 Approx. 160

(1) Measured after testing by opening completely each specimen.

Specimen Plate Height Gauge section Comments

(mm) (mm x mm)

Compression

cz1 UD2 30.01 7.49 x 11.88 -

cz2 UD2 30.00 12.14 x 7.49 Fibres running along

the widest surface

Table 7 (continued)

Specimen Plate Height Gauge section Comments

(mm) (mm x mm)

cz3 UD2 30.03 7.52 x 12.10 _

cz4 UD2 30.03 7.54 x 12.00 -

cz5 UD2 30.03 7.54 x 11.97 -

Tension

tz1 UD2 34.11 7.64 x 11.98 -

tz2 UD2 32.02 7.66 x 11.87 -

tz3 UD2 34.04 7.64 x 11.74 -

tz4 UD2 34.04 7.53 x 12.02 -

tz5 UD2 34.02 7.57 x 12.02 -

Specimen Plate Initial crack Thickness Width Height

length (mm) (mm) (mm) (mm)

Compact compression

cc1 CP1 20.18 4.09 65.19 60.04

cc2 CP1 20.33 4.03 65.15 59.96

Compact tension

ct1 CP1 26.96 4.05 65.12 60.03

ct2 CP1 26.61 4.05 65.15 60.30

Appendix B. Supplementary material

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found in the online version at http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.dib.2016.01.010.

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