Silk Fibers and their Unidirectional Polymer Composites - Natural Polymers, Biopolymers, Biomaterials, and Their Composites, Blends, and IPNs - page 82

Figure 12. Comparison of longitudinal average strain.
Stress-strain curves of unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites under transverse
loading are shown in Figure 13. With the increase of fiber volume fractions, UTS,
modulus, and strain increases. A variety of factors will have a significant influence
on the transverse strength; these factors include properties of the fiber and matrix, the
fiber-matrix bond strength, and the presence of voids. Transverse UTS, modulus and
strain is lower than longitudinal UTS, modulus and strain ( Figure 14 ). Longitudinal
strength depends upon the fiber strength and interfacial bonding between fiber and
matrix. On the other hand, transverse strength depends upon the fiber-matrix interfa-
cial strength.
Figure 13. Stress-strain curve for composites under transverse loading.