Study of failure criterion of hole-notched plain Woven CFRP composites

Recently, CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic) is more and more using in the various fields because of a higher specific modulus, chemical property and so on. Most products using CFRP composite are manufactured by construction of components. Various independent components are joined with those by bolts and pins. Holes for bolts and pins are decreasing strength of components, because those act as notch in structures. In this paper, the fracture behavior of CFRP plain-woven composite plates containing circular holes is experimentally investigated to examine the effects of hole-size and specimen width on notched tensile strength. It is shown in this paper that the characteristic length according to the point stress criterion depends on the hole-size and specimen width. Notched tensile strength and characteristic length are shown a certain relation. Fracture criterion is redefined by this relation.