Effects of temperature and fiber volume fraction on mechanical properties of T300/QY8911-IV composites

The response of QY8911-IV resin matrix and T300/QY8911 composite laminates at elevated temperatures was investigated systematically. The mechanical properties and failure mechanism in resin matrix and composites with various fiber volume fractions were also perceived. Based on the experimental results, the corresponding mechanical models were established to describe the relationships between mechanical properties and fiber volume fraction at different temperatures. Test results show that the longitudinal modulus and strength have a low relevance to temperature, whereas the transverse and in-plane shear properties decrease dramatically with the increase of temperature as the result of the softening of resin matrix. Additionally, the influence of temperature on the properties mentioned above is more obvious than that of fiber volume fraction. Finally, several new predictive models were proposed and proved to be satisfactorily acceptable.