Mapping of longitudinal fibre strain in fibre-reinforced polymer composites

Strain concentrations are the key microscale feature controlling failure of unidirectional fibre-reinforced composites and are vital in reliable failure prediction models. Despite their importance, current measurement tools have not been able to quantify them accurately because they occur locally inside the material and the strains are small. This proposal will perform detailed XRD strain mapping measurements on carbon fibre-reinforced composites, guided by Phase Contrast Tomography (PCT) and radiographic projections. This will yield: • Invaluable data to validate or reject the current assumptions in failure prediction models; • Novel mechanistic insight into local strain concentrations, which will be measured for the first time; • Validation data for the scientific community.