Experimental Study of the Crack Growth Processes in Composite Samples

The work is devoted to an experimental study of the regularities of inelastic deformation and the processes of development of defects and cracks in samples of composite materials with concentrators and cracks based on the integrated using of the method of correlation of digital images (DIC), infrared thermography (IR) and acoustic emission (AE). In the course of the work, methodological issues of the integrated application of test and measuring systems were solved, the evolution of inhomogeneous deformation and temperature fields was analyzed, illustrating the laws of initiation and propagation of cracks in fiberglass samples, and the jump-like nature of the crack development in the materials under consideration was noted. In the analysis of various parameters of the recorded AE signals, it is noted that during loading and development of a crack, a change in the mechanisms of development of defects, damage accumulation and crack development occurs. The influence of the direction of composite reinforcement and the properties of the loading system on the processes of deformation of specimens with cracks is estimated.