ABSTRACT
Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are quite commonly used in many structural components. Most of the FRP composites used in applications are either unidirectional or bidirectional, making them superior when the state of stress is along the direction of the fiber orientation. However, these FRP composites exhibit poor out-of-plane, impact, and interlaminar fracture toughness. As a consequence, they are vulnerable to interlaminar fracture during any impact loading. In addition, the poor drapability of these composites makes it difficult to make components of complex shapes. Hence, the ability of these FRP composites to hold a preexisting crack must be quantified and, thus, suitable measures must be adopted for its enhancement. In this chapter, various test standards are first discussed to determine the fracture toughness of FRP composites. Further, discussion has been carried out for potential techniques for efficient improvement in the aforesaid properties of such FRP composite materials.
