Creep behavior of GFRP laminates and their phases: Experimental investigation and analytical modeling

Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) laminates are being currently used within industrial, automotive, naval, aerospace and civil fields. The reliability of composites over time can be evaluated by characterising their deferred behavior. Experimental investigations on this topic are limited due to the complexity in accurate testing. A creep test program was carried out in order to model the viscous behavior of the composites and their phases. Long term behavior of several unidirectional glass fibre reinforced polymer laminates, manufactured through the wet lay-up technique, and their constituent phases (matrix and fibre) is presented in this paper. Starting from the experimental data acquired for six months, a predictive micromechanical model was proposed for the laminates and the fibres, whilst a phenomenological non linear model, formulated by the authors, was used for the resin matrix. The tests were performed at the Structural Engineering Testing Hall of the University of Salerno.