Study on Interfacial Fracture Mechanism and Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites Under Transverse Tensile Loading

ABSTRACT Carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRCs) are widely used in engineering due to their excellent mechanical properties; however, the transverse tensile mechanical behavior and fiber‐matrix interfacial failure mechanisms of CFRCs remain insufficiently investigated. To address this gap, this study employed combined in situ microcomputed tomography (μCT) and digital volume correlation (DVC) characterization on CFRC specimens under transverse tensile loading. Incremental load‐dependent in situ μCT datasets were processed to reconstruct three‐dimensional (3D) models of specimens, quantify internal pore distribution, analyze porosity evolution, and characterize crack initiation and fracture morphology. Concurrently, DVC was applied to resolve the 3D full‐field strain distribution within the loaded specimens. Key results show that CFRCs exhibit an initial porosity of 1.4%, which increases by 3.69 times to 5.16% prior to fracture—indicating rapid internal damage accumulation. More importantly, DVC successfully identified localized strain concentration zones, enabling precise prediction of the ultimate fracture locations. This study innovatively establishes a link between the microscale pore evolution and macroscale fracture behavior of CFRCs under transverse tension through the integration of μCT and DVC. The combined characterization approach not only clarifies the transverse failure mechanism of CFRCs but also provides a reliable technical basis for the structural optimization and performance improvement of CFRC‐based components.