The crack-face fiber bridging of a 2D-C/C-composite Original Research Article

The stress distribution of fiber bridging in the crack-face contact region behind the crack tip is considered for a carbon fiber-reinforced carbon matrix laminal composite (2D-C/C-composite). The suppression of stress intensity factor is resulted from the crack-face fiber bridging behind the crack-tip. Based on the equilibrium of mechanical moment between the external load and the internal bridging stresses, a novel bridging model with the compact tension geometry is presented. The application of the model to experimental R-curve results enables us to calculate the bridging load, and then easily provides the magnitude and the distribution of crack-face fiber bridging stresses. The microfracture processes and mechanisms associated with fiber bridging of the 2D-C/C-composite are also discussed.