Effect of filler and void content on mechanical properties of pultruded composite materials under shear loading

This paper presents the results of an analytical investigation aimed at examining the mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced polymer matrix materials containing nonhomogeneous constituents such as fine clay fillers under shear loading. Analytical formulae that account for the presence of inhomogeneities in the matrix materials were developed for estimating the extensional and in-plane shear moduli and Poisson's ratio. The analytical results were compared with the properties obtained from experiments. For the experiments, the pultruded composites containing clay fillers and voids as well as glass fiber and vinylester resin were selected, analyzed, and tested under shear loading. The effects of presence of constituents on the mechanical properties of matrix materials were also investigated based on the obtained volume fraction of their constituents. (c) 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers.