Effect of E-Glass fibre and ply orientation on the mechanical behaviour of FRP composites used for pressure pipe

The main goals of this experimental investigation were to compare the mechanical behaviour of resins reinforced with different woven fabrics (bidirectional and quadriaxial rovings), manufactured with the classical hand lay-up process, and to find the more appropriate industrial pressure pipe. In order to realize such applications, several mechanical properties need to be evaluated. So, a focus was essentially done on the evaluation of the effect of resin and E-Glass fibre ply orientation on the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and flexural strength of the studied composite laminates. An experimental failure analysis was carried out to observe the crack paths and failure mechanisms in the investigated laminate composites. From the main results, it was found that the composites based on R500 fabrics show the best behaviour in tensile while the laminates based on RM fabrics present the best flexural properties. The quadriaxial composite laminates (QA/VE and QA/UP) with stacking sequences of [0 degrees, +45 degrees, 90 degrees, -45 degrees] present a very ductile tensile behaviour and the highest interlaminar fracture resistance. Consequently, they can be more appropriate for the industrial pressure pipe.