Reversible Rail Shear Apparatus Applied to the Study of Woven Laminate Shear Behavior

Thomas Rouault (1, 2) , Christophe Bouvet (1) , Vincent Nègre (2) , Patrice Rauch (2)

1 ICA - Institut Clément Ader
2 Eurocopter France

The multitude of in-plane shear tests existing in the literature seems to demonstrate the complexity of developing a test adapted to all experimental works. In a general framework of investigation of translaminar cracks in thin laminates, a test able to reproduce a pure in-plane shear loading was required. The laminate studied is notably employed as helicopter blade skin, and cyclic torsion induced by aerodynamic load involves cyclic in-plane shear. This particular application established some specifications for the test needed to carry out this study. To comply with them, an original technological solution has been developed from a three-rail shear test apparatus. This paper describes the resulting “reversible rail shear test” solution and its application to the study of in-plane shear behavior of a thin glass-epoxy laminate. The results concern plain and notched coupons under quasi-static loading, and crack growth tests under cyclic loading.

Mots clés: Three-rail shear test; Woven composite; Notch; Fatigue crack growth

Domaines: Matériaux

Thomas Rouault, Christophe Bouvet, Vincent Nègre, Patrice Rauch. Reversible Rail Shear Apparatus Applied to the Study of Woven Laminate Shear Behavior. Experimental Mechanics, 2013, 53 (8), pp.1437-1448. ⟨10.1007/s11340-013-9731-8⟩. ⟨hal-01851613⟩