An experimental and statistical evaluation of flexural performance of single and double notched glass/epoxy composite

The existence of a notch in a composite structure is inevitable. However, its presence automatically changes the stress distribution pattern in the component. The present work analyses the flexural performance of glass/epoxy composite with single and pair holes in different locations and sizes. In paired holes (2 mm diameter), stress concentrations were placed at a distance of 10, 20 and 30 mm. In single hole specimens, the notch locations were at 4, 8 and 12 mm distance with hole diameter of 2, 4 and 6 mm. The work suggests a significant drop (30.21%) of flexural strength with a hole placed at 10 mm, which eventually reduced up to 14 ± 1% with the hole moving further away in a paired configuration. Although, the optimum performance was at 20 mm location with improvement in flexural modulus by 12.27%. The single hole arrangement reiterates the significance of hole location and reports that flexural strength decreases significantly as it moves away from the support end (42.44%). However, this drop is never linear, suggesting a fall between mid-location. The notch size appears as an important element in flexural performance for it changes the stress distribution around the hole and the associated damage propagation. The above analysis supported Weibull statistics and found good agreement with experimental results.