Ply thickness and fibre orientation effects in multidirectional composite laminates subjected to combined tension/compression and shear

The effects of laminate lay-up and multiaxial loading on the failure of multidirectional laminates can be significant. Thus, ply thickness and fibre orientation effects in quasi-isotropic carbon/epoxy laminates subjected to combined tension-shear and compression-shear loading are investigated. Three laminate lay-ups with equivalent thickness and homogenised elastic properties, but with different ply thicknesses and ply orientation angles are studied using open-hole specimens. Combined tension/compression-shear loading is applied using a new Modified Arcan Fixture (MAF). A methodology for identifying the failure behaviour based on stereo Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is devised. The results show that ply thickness has a strong effect on the failure behaviour in combined tension-shear, whereas the effect is small in compression-shear loading. No significant effect of the relative fibre orientation angles is observed under either loading regime. The experimental approach provides a new tool to investigate composite laminates under the full tension/compression-shear loading regime.

A. Laminates, B. Lay-up effects, B. Multiaxial testing, B. Strength

10.1016/j.compositesa.2020.105864

1359-835X

Laux, Tobias

cffe8612-be2f-4fed-a3f9-a87e18099826

Gan, Khong

b0c1e988-d375-4bbc-acdc-c77a6da1f904

Barton, Janice

9e35bebb-2185-4d16-a1bc-bb8f20e06632

Thomsen, Ole

f3e60b22-a09f-4d58-90da-d58e37d68047

June 2020

Laux, Tobias

cffe8612-be2f-4fed-a3f9-a87e18099826

Gan, Khong

b0c1e988-d375-4bbc-acdc-c77a6da1f904

Barton, Janice

9e35bebb-2185-4d16-a1bc-bb8f20e06632

Thomsen, Ole

f3e60b22-a09f-4d58-90da-d58e37d68047

Laux, Tobias, Gan, Khong, Barton, Janice and Thomsen, Ole (2020) Ply thickness and fibre orientation effects in multidirectional composite laminates subjected to combined tension/compression and shear. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 133, [105864]. (doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2020.105864).

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Accepted/In Press date: 3 March 2020

e-pub ahead of print date: 6 March 2020

Published date: June 2020

Additional Information: Funding Information: This work is supported by EPSRC under the Doctoral Training Grant 1801230 and through a Stanley Gray Fellowship granted to the lead author by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST). The µ-VIS X-Ray Imaging Centre of the University of Southampton is acknowledged for providing the computed tomography facilities used in this study. The MAF/DIC approach described in the paper was developed and commissioned in the Testing and Structures Research Laboratory (TSRL) at the University of Southampton. The guidance of the TSRL Principal Experimental Officer Dr. Andy Robinson on various topics regarding experimental set-up and techniques is gratefully acknowledged. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords: A. Laminates, B. Lay-up effects, B. Multiaxial testing, B. Strength