This paper describes and discusses experiments on the fracture strengths of some aligned fiber-reinforced materials and also on plexiglass. A strain gauge technique was used to determine the strains at crack initiation. The recorded strain curves for different fiber orientations and the various types of crack propagation are compared with those observed with plexiglass. The concepts of fracture mechanics are applied to evaluate fracture toughness based on the observed data with the compact specimens.
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