ABSTRACT
Surface texture and process defects resulting from net-shape machining of Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP)s are often ignored in the design and analysis of component parts. The authors recently proposed a mathematical model which defines the effects of surface texture on the strength of engineering components in terms of an effective stress concentration factor ( K t ¯ ) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780367812720/32ea5da8-d042-4571-9fe7-17e76a8f30d6/content/eq905.tif"/> . In this study, a verification of the proposed model for FRP materials is presented using results from an experimental analysis on the flexure strength of a graphite/bismaleimide laminate. It was found that the proposed model successfully predicted the reduction in flexure strength of FRP laminates resulting from net-shape machining over a large range in surface quality. Hence, results from this study indicate that the K t ¯ https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780367812720/32ea5da8-d042-4571-9fe7-17e76a8f30d6/content/eq906.tif"/> can be used to account for the effects of surface texture on the strength of FRP components.
