ABSTRACT
Moiré interferometry is applied to study the micromechanical behaviour and smeared engineering properties of thick graphite/epoxy laminated composites. The free-edge effect, an extremely important topic in the mechanics of composites, is investigated. Laminated fibre composites behave differently near the surface, compared to their behaviour in the interior. The reason is that fibres near the surface are discontinued and less constrained by surrounding material, so they can display more readily in response to applied loads. The result is that failures often originate at the free edges. To study the free-edge effect, surface deformations have to be resolved on a ply-by-ply basis. Moiré interferometry, which features very high displacement sensitivity and spatial resolution, is an ideal tool for this investigation.
