Comparison of different identification techniques for measurement of quasi-zero Poisson’s ratio of fabric-reinforced laminates

The resonalyser method is a material identification technique which is based on the measurement of resonance frequencies of freely suspended rectangular test plates, combined with numerical simulations. By adjusting the ratio of the width to the length of the test plate, the resonance frequencies can be made very sensitive for small variations of Poisson’s ratio. This study examines a fabric-reinforced composite material with a very small value of Poisson’s ratio. The material on which the experiments are performed is a carbon fabric-reinforced polyphenylene sulphide. The accurateness of the determined values of the in-plane elastic properties of the test plates is validated with static tensile tests. First, the four orthotropic elastic properties, Young’s moduli E11 and E22, the in-plane shear modulus G12 and Poisson’s ratio ν12, are identified using the resonalyser technique. Next, the obtained values for Young’s moduli and Poisson’s ratio are validated with static uni-axial tests.It can be concluded that the results derived from both measurement methods corresponded very well.