Reliability of sheet moulding composites (SMC) for the automotive industry

The reliability of Sheet Moulding Composite (SMC) has been analysed by means of mechanical static and fatigue tests. SMCs showed substantial in-plane anisotropy either in terms of stiffness or strength reflecting the preferential orientation of the short fibres along the direction of the conveyor belt during the processing operations. The static data were modelled on a statistical basis assuming that the monotonic tensile strength follows a two-parameter Weibull distribution, while for the fatigue test we adopted a two parameters model already validated for Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastics (GFRP). Overall, the procedure indicated that he material reliability and its applicability limits can be achieved with a minimum of experimental tests.