Experimental investigation of axial compression behavior after low velocity impact of glass fiber reinforced filament wound pipes with different diameter

The GRP (Glass Reinforced Polymer) composite pipes produced by filament winding (FW) technique are used in many applications such as the transmission of pressurized gases, liquids, oil, and natural gas transmission. These composite pipes may be subjected to low velocity impacts during production and/or service for various reasons. The impact on the composite pipes may lead to invisible damages such as matrix crack, fiber damage, and inter layer separation. In this study, pipes with three different diameters (empty set54, empty set72, and empty set96 mm) were produced to investigate the damage caused by low velocity impact and to determine the effect of these damages on the strength losses of the composite pipe. The pipes were subjected to low velocity impact test according to ASTM D 7136 with 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 m/s impact velocities. In order to examine the effects of impact damages on the strength of pipes, Compression after impact (CAI) tests were performed on pre-damaged pipes according to ASTM D 7137 and Force-Displacement and Stress-Strain relations were obtained. The results of impacted samples were compared with the behavior of undamaged samples. After the experiments, macro/micro damage analyses of GRP pipes were performed by optical microscope and SEM imaging.