Effect of Stacking Sequence on Damage Propagation and Failure Modes in Composite Laminates

Abstract

The effect of stacking sequence on damage growth and failure modes in composite laminates is discussed. Tests were conducted on AS/3501-6 graphite/epoxy coupons with four different stacking sequences. All laminates had the same percentage of 0, 90, and ±45 degree plies. Constant amplitude fatigue tests were performed at R (minimum to maximum stress ratio) = −1.0 and −∞. The specimens were periodically taken out of the testing machine and subjected to nondestructive inspection using X-ray radiography with diiodobutane. The results of nondestructive inspection indicate that the direction of damage propagation depends on the stacking sequence in the composite laminate. The damage may propagate predominantly along the loading direction or in a direction at some angle to the loading direction, depending on the stacking sequence. Interlaminar stress analysis of four laminates was performed to correlate the direction of damage propagation with the nature of interlaminar stresses.

Improving the impact resistance and damage tolerance of fibre reinforced composites: A review

“…When the delamination and resin cracking cannot absorb impact energy, the fibre breakage occur at that point either in the top layers which are load localized on the contact area 108 or in the bottom layers due to the back face flexure. 112 The properties of resin system, a constituent of composite laminates, can also play a role in the distribution of the failure modes during an impact event. For instance, the brittle composite showed different failure modes than flexible composite as shown in Figure 4.…”

Investigation and Modeling of Damage Growth in Composite Laminates.

“…Ply orientation and stacking sequence have been shown to be important in the damage development, residual strength, and failure mode of notched laminates [4,10,70] …”

Vanishing notch sensitivity approach to fatigue life prediction of notched cross-ply CFRP laminates at room temperature

“…[20][21][22] Many attempts have been made to understand the fatigue behavior of notched composite laminates, for example, with respect to the change in notched strength due to cyclic loading [7][8][9][10][11][12][13] as well as to the growth of damage such as delamination and matrix cracking with cyclic loading and its dependence on stacking configuration. [23][24][25] Considerable attention has also been devoted to modeling of residual strength. [26][27][28][29][30][31][32] Regarding the development of an analytical technique for predicting the S-N relationships for notched composites, however, only a limited number of articles can be found in literature.…”