Finite Element Analysis of the Parameters Influencing the Failure Modes of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Cores

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is an anisotropic material with outstanding tensile strength in the axial direction but low compressive strength in the radial direction. In the process of line construction, such as wire crimping and conductor clamping, radial pressure failure and slip failure easily occur. This paper applies finite element analysis (FEA) to the parameters influencing the radial stress and displacement in a CFRP core to research the failure modes of the CFRP core. The selected parameters are the interference of the CFRP core, the friction coefficient between the core and inner wedge, and the angle of the inner wedge. The finite element method is applied to analyze a CFRP core with a self-tightening clamp to find the optimum condition parameters so that the CFRP core experiences neither slip failure nor radial pressure failure. From the study, lower interference and larger friction coefficient and angle lead to lower radial stress. The interference has the largest effect on the mitigation of radial pressure failure. For larger interference, a larger friction coefficient and angle mitigate slip failure. According to the analytic results, an interference between 0.02 mm and 0.025 mm and an angle larger than 3°, coupled with a friction coefficient larger than 0.3, best stop slip failure and radial pressure failure.

Keywords

• CFRP core
• finite element analysis
• radial pressure failure
• slip failure
• self-tightening clamp