Testing Solutions

for Composites
Ian McEnteggart
Instron
Norwood, Mass.

Composite
materials and
components
require a range
of physical and
mechanical
testing under
various
environmental
conditions to
ensure optimal
performance
in specific
applications.

omposite materials are being used increasingly in a wide variety of products and applications as manufacturers strive to produce structures that are lighter, stronger, and offer
greater corrosion resistance than those made of traditional materials. Testing for physical and mechanical properties is required to characterize and understand the performance properties of these materials. Ever-increasing performance demands in the aerospace, automotive, and
environmentally sustainable-energy systems industries require, in turn, a wider range of physical
and mechanical tests and testing sophistication for the materials and components used in these
applications. Testing of composite materials includes high force tension and compression, impact,
flexure, shear, rheology, and fatigue tests under a range of environmental conditions.
Mechanical testing instruments are configured using a range of fixtures that have been developed to provide various ways to test composite materials depending on the type of material and
its intended end use. Most of these fixtures are designed to meet specific materials testing standards, which were developed over the years by leading manufacturers and research organizations,
and then made their way into various standards writing organization including ASTM, ISO, EN,
and others. In addition, auditing programs such as Nadcap dictate test performance criteria; alignment for the testing equipment, for example.
Why Test Composites?
Composites testing is performed to determine material properties, reliability, and damage tolerance. Other testing is done to study the effects of variables on the materials.
Material properties: Structural variables such as fiber orientation, fiber volume fraction, laminate thickness, and core density; and processing variables such as layup accuracy, curing temperature and pressure, can have a dramatic affect on the mechanical properties of composite materials.
Mechanical and process testing is necessary to understand the effect these variables have on the
finished material or component.
Reliability and repeatability of component properties must be proven through testing to ensure optimal service in high-performance applications in aerospace, automotive, and motorsport
applications.
Damage tolerance: Testing is necessary to simulate
real-life conditions such as impact on components
from dropped tools, minor accidents, and manufacturing imperfections.
Research and development: Testing is performed to
investigate variables that can affect mechanical properties and damage tolerance, and to provide data for
use in finite element analysis.

Gauged composite specimen tested using 100-kN hydraulic wedge-action grips.

Selecting the Right Test

Composites are complex structures made of a variety of different polymer, metal, and ceramic materials. The mechanical and chemical integrity of
composite materials are affected by many variables,
making property prediction and analysis challenging.
Thus, testing is a vital addition to chemical analysis,
as well as being essential for quality control. Brief descriptions of some of the tests used to characterize
composites are given below.
Rheology: The study of the rheological behavior of
thermoplastic-based composites is very important
for the fabrication of end products, and plays an important role in determining the material performance related to deformation and flow under the

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES SEPTEMBER 2010

25

Set-up for measuring in-plane shear

properties of
polymer matrix
composites in
accordance with
ASTM D4255:
Standard Test
Method for
In-Plane Shear
Properties of
Polymer Matrix
Composite Materials by the Rail
Shear Method.
These shear tests
are designed to
produce in-plane
shear property
data for material
specifications,
research and
development, and
design.

processing conditions. Capillary rheometers measure

the rheological behavior of thermoplastic polymers
and composites under processing conditions. Meltflow testers measure (with great accuracy) the melt
mass-flow rate (MFR) and melt volume-flow rate
(MVR), basic data required for thermoplastic quality
control in the raw materials field.
Thermomechanical: Heat deflection temperature
(HDT) and Vicat softening temperature systems are
used to characterize the behavior of plastic materials
at high temperatures. These thermal testing systems
range from very simple units for quality control labs to
more advanced and automated systems.
Tensile testing of composites usually is in the form
of basic tension or flat sandwich tension testing in accordance with standards such as ISO 527-4, ISO 5275, ASTM D 638, ASTM D 3039, and ASTM C 297. A
range of proven test specimen gripping methods is
available for ambient, sub-ambient, and high-temperature testing. The gripping mechanisms
include manual, pneumatic, and hydraulic actuation. A range of jaw-face
patterns are available to provide effective gripping of tabbed and untabbed
specimens. This prevents slipping
under load and premature failure
caused by stress concentrations in the
jaws. Hydraulic-grip solutions for nonambient testing place the hydraulic
components outside the temperature
chamber for safety and reliability.
Adapters are available to allow other accessories, including compression
platens and bend fixtures, to be attached while leaving the grips in place.
Compression tests can be conducted
on plain or open/filled-hole speci-

Set-up for measuring flatwise compressive properties of

composite sandwich cores in accordance with ASTM
C365: Standard Test Method for Flatwise Compressive
Properties of Sandwich Cores. Flatwise compressive
strength and modulus are fundamental mechanical
properties of sandwich cores that are used in designing
sandwich panels.
26

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES SEPTEMBER 2010

mens. Common testing standards include ASTM D

695, ASTM D 3410, and ISO 14126. Compression fixtures are designed to meet the unique requirements of
composite materials, providing precise alignment and
precision guidance to prevent buckling.
Compression after impact: Significant advances in
damage-tolerant composites include the addition of
sheets between plies and additives to the resin. A compression after impact (CAI) test helps develop and
prove damage tolerant composites and also their performance repeatability. A drop tower is required to
provide the impact before a compression test is conducted on a testing machine. Standards include Airbus
AITM 1.0010, ASTM D 7136 and D 7137, SACMA 2R94, and Boeing BSS 7260.
Flexure: The most common flexure testing of composites is 3-point and 4-point bend testing in accordance with ISO 14125, ASTM D 790, and ASTM D
6272.
Shear: Interlaminar, rail, in-plane Iosipescu, and
flat-sandwich in-plane shear tests can be performed to
meet ISO 14129, ASTM C 273, ASTM D 5379, and
ASTM D 4255 standards. ASTM D 2344 and ISO
14130 also can be met using an interlaminar flexural
and shear testing fixture.
Fatigue: An extensive range of dynamic systems accommodates loads from <1 to 2500 kN; ideal for meeting the fatigue and fracture testing requirements of
composite materials, especially in demanding applications such as aerospace and wind power. It is important to note that the load frames need to provide high
stiffness and exceptional alignment that composite
testing demands.
Other mechanical tests: A variety of other standardized mechanical tests for composite materials are available. Examples include bearing strength tests to ASTM
D 5961 and interlaminar fracture toughness tests to
ASTM D 5538.
The Importance of Alignment
in Composites Testing
Alignment is critical for composite testing applications, due to the anisotropic (material properties and
strength differences depending on the direction of the
applied force or load) and brittle nature of the material. For instance, the tensile strength of a composite
material is very high in the direction parallel to the
fiber orientation, while if tested in any other direction,
the tensile strength is much lower. Therefore, to determine the maximum tensile strength (in the direction
parallel to the fiber direction in the composite) of a
composite material, the tensile system used to test this
property must have superior axial load string alignment. This is especially critical in the aerospace industry, where composites are used in high tensile stress
applications and human safety depends on the strength
of the final products in which the composites are used.
Alignment fixtures are available to ensure that test-

ing systems meet the alignment criteria specified in

such critical applications, and as required by specific
testing programs used by aerospace and automotive industries, such as Nadcap AC7122/1.
The Instron alignment system, consisting of the
AlignPRO fixture and dedicated AlignPRO software,
improves the accuracy of test data by ensuring that the
load string is correctly aligned before testing. The fixture allows the load cell and grip assembly to be aligned
quickly and precisely, and allows both concentric and
angular misalignment to be adjusted while the load
string is still preloaded. The software monitors the output from 12 strain gauges mounted on either flat or
round alignments cells. The outputs are used to calculate bending due to angular and concentric alignment
errors. For each of these components, the direction and
magnitude of the bending is displayed both numerically and graphically. The software identifies which adjustments are required, and displays in real time the
effect of the adjustments, enabling accurate machine
setup in minutes.
For more information: Ian McEnteggart, Composites Product and Applications Manager, Instron, 825 University Ave.,
Norwood, MA 02062: tel: 781/575-5000; email: ian_
mcenteggart@instron.com; Web site: www.instron.com.

Fatigue test of specimen using an Instron ElectroPuls testing

instrument.

www.istfa.org

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES SEPTEMBER 2010

27