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Polymers
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Failure of Polymer Composites
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Failure of Polymer Composites

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Physics and Theory".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2025 | Viewed by 14233

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Seyed R. Koloor

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39, 85577 Neubiberg, Munich, Germany
Interests: advanced materials; finite element analysis; stress analysis; finite element modeling; mechanics of materials; mechanical behavior of materials; material characterization; polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Geralt Siebert

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute for Structural Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39, 85579 Neubiberg, Munich, Germany
Interests: advanced materials; characterization; glass science and technology; structural design and analysis; computational mechanics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer and polymer composite materials have become one of the fastest-growing and most widely used materials in various industries. Recent advances in understanding the mechanical and physical behaviors of polymers and polymer composite materials have become the key to designing advanced structures. This highlights the importance of the development of mathematical-physical models, computational methods, and novel experimentation to characterize the mechanical and physical properties of polymers and polymer composites, and to predict and describe the linear-nonlinear behavior to failure phenomena at the structural level. The implementation of such models and methods to practical applications becomes important and necessary to overcome the challenges in the design aspects of polymer composite structures.

This Special Issue on the “Failure of Polymer Composites” promotes and contributes to the development of novel failure concepts in mechanics and physics, bridging the gap between the fields of elastic and continuum deformations to failure of polymer and polymer composites while considering the fatigue, fracture, and damage mechanics. It covers new developments in the science and engineering of theoretical, computational, and experimental mechanics. The Special Issue contains the following research topics:

  • Development of new materials: thermoplastic, thermoset, FGM, FRP composites, FML, coating, etc.
  • Mechanical and physical Characterization of polymers and polymer-based composites
  • Mathematical modeling of polymers and composites: elastic, hyperelastic, viscoelastic, plastic, damage, failure, fracture, fatigue, etc.
  • Computational solid mechanics: finite element method, finite difference, peridynamics, real-time simulation, etc.
  • Experimental solid mechanics in material characterization, determination of structural response, testing of complex structures, experimental stress analysis, etc.
  • Novel testing methods: static, monotonic, dynamic, impact, cyclic, creep, etc.
  • Design: micro-systems, material level, structures and assemblies, super-structures, etc.
  • Physical behavior: moisture absorption, erosive/corrosive environmental effect, aging and long-term performance, etc.
  • New Sciences: nanomechanics, micromechanics, photomechanics, repair mechanics, recycling technology, etc.
  • New applications: aerospace, automotive, robotics, marine, energy, etc.
  • Manufacturing science: additive manufacturing, synthesis, molding, forming, etc.

  • Special cases: polymer films, coating, laminated glass interlayer, polymer sheets, nano-particle reinforced polymers, etc.

Authors are welcome to submit their latest research findings in the form of original full articles, letter, communications, or reviews on these topics.

Dr. Seyed R. Koloor
Prof. Dr. Geralt Siebert
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mathematical model
  • numerical and computational methods
  • experimental method
  • mechanical behavior
  • constitutive model
  • fatigue and fracture mechanics
  • damage mechanics

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

33 pages, 29122 KiB  
Article
Radiographic Inspection of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites (Laminates) with Epoxy and PEEK Binders After Impact and Subsequent Compression Loading
by Pavel V. Kosmachev, Dmitry Yu. Stepanov, Anton V. Tyazhev, Alexander E. Vinnik, Alexander V. Eremin, Oleg P. Tolbanov and Sergey V. Panin
Polymers 2024, 16(23), 3262; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16233262 - 23 Nov 2024
Viewed by 371
Abstract
An approach to detecting discontinuities in carbon fiber-reinforced polymers, caused by impact loading followed by compression testing, was developed. An X-ray sensor-based installation was used, while some algorithms were developed to improve the quality of the obtained low-contrast radiographic images with negligible signal-to-noise [...] Read more.
An approach to detecting discontinuities in carbon fiber-reinforced polymers, caused by impact loading followed by compression testing, was developed. An X-ray sensor-based installation was used, while some algorithms were developed to improve the quality of the obtained low-contrast radiographic images with negligible signal-to-noise ratios. For epoxy/AF (#1) composite subjected to a “high-velocity” steel-ball impact with subsequent compression loading, it was not possible to detect discontinuities since the orientation of the extended zone of interlayer delamination was perpendicular to the irradiation axis. After drop-weight impacts with subsequent compression loading of epoxy/CF (#2) and PEEK/CF (#3) composites, the main cracks were formed in their central parts. This area was reliably detected through the improved radiographic images being more contrasted compared to that for composite #3, for which the damaged area was similar in shape but smaller. The phase variation and congruency methods were employed to highlight low-contrast objects in the radiographic images. The phase variation procedure showed higher efficiency in detecting small objects, while phase congruency is preferable for highlighting large objects. To assess the degree of image improvement, several metrics were implemented. In the analysis of the model images, the most indicative was the PSNR parameter (with a S-N ratio greater than the unit), confirming an increase in image contrast and a decrease in noise level. The NIQE and PIQE parameters enabled the correct assessment of image quality even with the S-N ratio being less than a unit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Failure of Polymer Composites)
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21 pages, 9719 KiB  
Article
Prediction of Fatigue Life of Polyetherimide/Carbon Fiber Particulate Composites at Various Maximum Stresses and Filler Contents
by Alexey A. Bogdanov and Sergey V. Panin
Polymers 2024, 16(6), 749; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16060749 - 8 Mar 2024
Viewed by 917
Abstract
The objective of this research was to predict the fatigue behavior of polyetherimide-based composites loaded with short carbon fibers 200 μm long under cyclic loads. The weight fraction of the filler was 10, 20, and 30 wt.%, while the maximum stress in a [...] Read more.
The objective of this research was to predict the fatigue behavior of polyetherimide-based composites loaded with short carbon fibers 200 μm long under cyclic loads. The weight fraction of the filler was 10, 20, and 30 wt.%, while the maximum stress in a cycle was 55, 65, and 75 MPa. A modified fatigue model based on the obtained experimental results and Basquin equation was developed. The novelty of the results is related to developing a model on the structure–property relationship, which accounts for both the maximum stress in a cycle and the carbon fiber content in the composites. In addition, an “algorithm” for designing such composites according to the fatigue life criterion was proposed. The approach to determine relationships between the composition, structure, and properties of PCMs described in this study can be applied to further expand the model and to improve its versatility in the use of other thermoplastic matrices and fillers. The results of this study can be applied for the design of composites for structural applications with designated fatigue properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Failure of Polymer Composites)
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12 pages, 2784 KiB  
Article
Effect of Corrosive Environment on the High-Cycle Fatigue Behavior of Reinforced Concrete by Epoxy Resin: Experimental Study
by Kazem Reza Kashyzadeh
Polymers 2023, 15(19), 3939; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15193939 - 29 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1324
Abstract
Large engineering structures made of various materials, including concrete (e.g., bridges, dams, buildings, and multilevel car parks), steel (e.g., power towers, ships, and wind turbines), or others, are often subjected to severe vibration, dynamic, and cyclic loads, which lead to crack initiation, crack [...] Read more.
Large engineering structures made of various materials, including concrete (e.g., bridges, dams, buildings, and multilevel car parks), steel (e.g., power towers, ships, and wind turbines), or others, are often subjected to severe vibration, dynamic, and cyclic loads, which lead to crack initiation, crack growth, and finally structural failure. One of the effective techniques to increase the fatigue life of such structures is the use of reinforced materials. In the meantime, environmental factors, such as corrosion caused by corrosive environments, also affect the fatigue behavior of materials. Therefore, the main purpose of this paper is to study the influence of corrosive environment on the high-cycle fatigue (HCF) behavior of concrete reinforced by epoxy resin. For this purpose, five corrosive environments with different intensities, including fresh air, water: W, sea water: SW, acidic: AC, and alkaline: AL, were considered and the laboratory samples of conventional concrete (CC) and polymer concrete (PC) were immersed in them for one month. Next, axial fatigue tests were performed under compressive–compressive loading with a frequency of 3 Hz on cylindrical specimens. Moreover, to achieve reliable results, for each stress amplitude, the fatigue test was repeated three times, and the average number of cycles to failure was reported as the fatigue lifetime. Finally, the stress–life cycle (S-N) curves of different states were compared. The results showed that polymer concrete can resist well in corrosive environments and under cyclic loads compared to the conventional concrete, and in other words, the epoxy resin has performed its task well as a reinforcer. The results of fatigue tests show that the load bearing range of 10 tons by CC has reached about 18 tons for PC, which indicates an 80% increase in fatigue strength. Meanwhile, the static strength of samples in the vicinity of fresh air has only improved by 12%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Failure of Polymer Composites)
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22 pages, 5369 KiB  
Article
Optimal Roving Winding on Toroidal Parts of Composite Frames
by Jaroslav Mlýnek, Seyed Saeid Rahimian Koloor and Roman Knobloch
Polymers 2023, 15(15), 3227; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15153227 - 28 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1304
Abstract
Frames made of polymer composites are increasingly used in the aerospace, automotive, and agricultural industries. A frequently used technology in the production line of composite frames is winding rovings onto a non-load-bearing frame to form the structure using an industrial robot and a [...] Read more.
Frames made of polymer composites are increasingly used in the aerospace, automotive, and agricultural industries. A frequently used technology in the production line of composite frames is winding rovings onto a non-load-bearing frame to form the structure using an industrial robot and a winding head, which is solidified through a subsequent heat-treatment pressure process. In this technology, the most difficult procedure is the winding of the curved parts of a composite frame. The primary concern is to ensure the proper winding angles, minimize the gaps and overlaps, and ensure the homogeneity of the wound layers. In practice, the curved frame parts very often geometrically form sections of a torus. In this work, the difficulty of achieving a uniform winding of toroidal parts is described and quantified. It is shown that attaining the required winding quality depends significantly on the geometrical parameters of the torus in question. A mathematical model with a detailed procedure describing how to determine the number of rovings of a given width on toroidal parts is presented. The results of this work are illustrated with practical examples of today’s industrial problems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Failure of Polymer Composites)
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16 pages, 7310 KiB  
Article
Design and Study of Fractal-Inspired Metamaterials with Equal Density Made from a Strong and Tough Thermoplastic
by Levente Széles, Richárd Horváth and János Péter Rádics
Polymers 2023, 15(12), 2650; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15122650 - 12 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1868
Abstract
In this study, we created metamaterials consisting of square unit cells—inspired by fractal geometry—and described the parametric equation necessary for their creation. The area and thus the volume (density) and mass of these metamaterials are constant regardless of the number of cells. They [...] Read more.
In this study, we created metamaterials consisting of square unit cells—inspired by fractal geometry—and described the parametric equation necessary for their creation. The area and thus the volume (density) and mass of these metamaterials are constant regardless of the number of cells. They were created with two layout types; one consists solely of compressed rod elements (ordered layout), and in the other layout, due to a geometrical offset, certain regions are exposed to bending (offset layout). In addition to creating new metamaterial structures, our aim was to study their energy absorption and failure. Finite element analysis was performed on their expected behavior and deformation when subjected to compression. Specimens were printed from polyamide with additive technology in order to compare and validate the results of the FEM simulations with real compression tests. Based on these results, increasing the number of cells results in a more stable behavior and increased load-bearing capacity. Furthermore, by increasing the number of cells from 4 to 36, the energy absorption capability doubles; however, further increase does not significantly change this capability. As for the effect of layout, the offset structures are 27% softer, on average, but exhibit a more stable deformation behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Failure of Polymer Composites)
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14 pages, 9622 KiB  
Article
Service Life Prediction of Type-IV Composite CNG Cylinder under the Influence of Drivers’ Refueling Habits—A Numerical Study
by Kazem Reza Kashyzadeh and Aleksandr Vyacheslavovich Marusin
Polymers 2023, 15(11), 2480; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15112480 - 27 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3183
Abstract
The new generation presented for CNG fuel tanks of vehicles (type-IV) is made entirely of composites. The reason for that is to prevent the sudden explosion of metal tanks and to use the advantage of gas leakage in composite materials. Previous research has [...] Read more.
The new generation presented for CNG fuel tanks of vehicles (type-IV) is made entirely of composites. The reason for that is to prevent the sudden explosion of metal tanks and to use the advantage of gas leakage in composite materials. Previous research has shown that type-IV CNG fuel tanks also have challenges such as variable wall thickness in outer shell parts, which are prone to failure under cyclic refueling loading. The optimization of this structure is on the agenda of many scholars and automakers, and in this regard, there are many standards for strength assessment. Despite reporting injury events, it seems that another parameter should be included in these calculations. In this article, the authors have attempted to numerically investigate the effect of drivers’ refueling habits on the service life of type-IV CNG fuel tanks. For this purpose, a 34-L CNG tank made of glass/epoxy composite, polyethylene, and Al-7075T6, respectively, for the outer shell parts, liner, and flanges was considered as a case study. Moreover, a real-size measurement-based finite element model validated in the corresponding author’s previous research was used. The loading history was applied as internal pressure according to the standard statement. Furthermore, considering different behavior of drivers for refueling, several loading histories with asymmetric details were applied. Eventually, the results obtained for different cases were compared to experimental data in symmetrical loading. The results showed that, based on the car’s mileage, the driver’s behavior in the refueling process can significantly reduce the service life of the tank (up to 78% of the predicted life based on the standard methodology). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Failure of Polymer Composites)
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14 pages, 4655 KiB  
Article
Damage Characteristics of a Step Lap Joint Exposed to Flexural Loading for Its Different Configurations
by Murat Demiral and Ferhat Kadioglu
Polymers 2023, 15(11), 2458; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15112458 - 25 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1410
Abstract
Step lap joints are kinds of lap structures, where butted laminations of each layer are consecutively offset in succeeding layers in the same direction. They are mainly designed this way to reduce the peel stresses at the edges of the overlap area observed [...] Read more.
Step lap joints are kinds of lap structures, where butted laminations of each layer are consecutively offset in succeeding layers in the same direction. They are mainly designed this way to reduce the peel stresses at the edges of the overlap area observed in single lap joints. In their service, lap joints are often subjected to bending loads. However, the performance of a step lap joint under flexural loading has not been studied in the literature yet. For this purpose, 3D advanced finite-element (FE) models of the step lap joints were developed via ABAQUS-Standard. DP 460 and A2024-T3 aluminum alloy were used for the adhesive layer and adherends, respectively. The polymeric adhesive layer was modelled using cohesive zone elements with quadratic nominal stress criteria and power law interaction of the energies to characterize the damage initiation and damage evolution, respectively. A surface-to-surface contact method with a penalty algorithm and a hard contact model was used to characterize the contact between the adherends and the punch. Experimental data were used to validate the numerical model. The effects of the configuration of the step lap joint on its performance in terms of the maximum bending load and the amount of energy absorbed were analyzed in detail. A step lap joint with three steps (three-stepped lap joint) was found to show the best flexural performance, and when the overlap length at the upper and lower steps was increased, the amount of energy absorbed by the joint increased markedly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Failure of Polymer Composites)
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24 pages, 10193 KiB  
Article
Fatigue and Wear Performance of Autoclave-Processed and Vacuum-Infused Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer Gears
by Zoran Bergant, Roman Šturm, Damijan Zorko and Borut Černe
Polymers 2023, 15(7), 1767; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15071767 - 1 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2799
Abstract
This study focuses on investigating the fatigue and wear behaviour of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) gears, which have shown promising potential as lightweight and high-performance alternatives to conventional gears. The gears were fabricated via an autoclave process using an 8-layer composite made [...] Read more.
This study focuses on investigating the fatigue and wear behaviour of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) gears, which have shown promising potential as lightweight and high-performance alternatives to conventional gears. The gears were fabricated via an autoclave process using an 8-layer composite made of T300 plain weave carbon fabric and ET445 resin and were tested in pair with a 42CrMo4 steel pinion and under nominal tooth bending stress ranging from 60 to 150 MPa. In-situ temperature monitoring was performed, using an infrared camera, and wear rates were regularly assessed. The result of the wear test indicates adhesive wear and three-body abrasion wear mechanisms between the CFRP gears and the steel counterpart. A finite element analysis was performed to examine the in-mesh contact and root stress behaviour of both new and worn gears at various loads and a specified running time. The results point to a substantial divergence from ideal meshing and stress conditions as the wear level is increased. The fatigue results indicated that the CFRP gears exhibited superior performance compared to conventional plastic and composite short-fibrous polymer gears. The described composite gear material was additionally compared with two other composite configurations, including an autoclave-cured T700S plain weave prepreg with DT120 toughened resin and a vacuum-impregnated T300 spread plain weave carbon fabric with LG 900 UV resin. The study found that the use of the T700S-DT120 resulted in additional improvements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Failure of Polymer Composites)
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