CONSOLIDATION EXPERIMENTS FOR LAMINATE COMPOSITES

Consolidation experiments conducted on special prepregs made of constant viscosity oils and aligned graphite fibers are reported. Measurements of the deformation behavior of the fibers in the 'drained' state (oil impregnated, but zero pressure in the oil) reveal that, to a first approximation, the fiber network can be modelled as a nonlinear elastic network, and a model based on bending beam behavior is shown to accurately fit the data. Furthermore, a finite load ( greater than 3 psi) is required to compress the fibers to volume fractions equal to, and above the range of about 0. 56 to 0. 61. Sample to sample variation, and in a few cases inelastic effects are also noted. Measurements of the permeability of the fiber bundle indicate a strong anisotropy as well as a strong fiber volume fraction dependence. The implications of the results are discussed.