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An experimental characterisation of spatial variability in GFRP composite panels

Spatial variability of material properties in composite materials remains relatively unexplored, despite anecdotal experimental evidence and progress in stochastic finite element analysis. This paper presents, for the first time, a detailed characterisation of spatial variability for two distinct composite material systems. It is shown that manufacturing characteristics can be captured through auto-correlation functions and correlation lengths, paving the way for stochastic finite element analysis underpinned by experimental input. Comparisons between the two composite materials provide unique insights with regard to the modelling strategies that should be adopted, depending on the nature of the observed spatial variability.