Measurements of Through-Thickness Young's Moduli of Fibrous Composite Laminates Using Nanoindentation

Abstract

A new approach of measuring through-thickness Young's moduli of composite materials using nanoindentation was proposed. First, an approximate expression of the reduced modulus of nanoindentation was introduced for orthotropic composites. Second, spherical nanoindentation was conducted for an E-glass fiber/vinyl ester composite system, and measured Young's modulus was quite consistent with the previously reported value for a similar material system.