Characterization and optimization of dispersed composite laminates for damage resistant aeronautical structures

Abstract

The main objective of the thesis is to assess the damage resistance and damage tolerance of the non-conventional dispersed laminates and compare the response with the conventional ones. However, part of the effort is spent on understanding the delamination behavior in multidirectional laminates. In the first part of the thesis, the delamination in multidirectional laminates is studied. The objective is to design a proper stacking sequence, capable of avoiding intralaminar damage (crack jumping), to enable the fracture toughness characterization under pure mode I. The result of this study shows that the higher the crack arm bending stiffness, the lower the tendency to crack jumping. This phenomenon is also studied experimentally and the same conclusion is drawn.

The main objective of the thesis is to assess the damage resistance and damage tolerance of the non-conventional dispersed laminates and compare the response with the conventional ones. However, part of the effort is spent on understanding the delamination behavior in multidirectional laminates. In the first part of the thesis, the delamination in multidirectional laminates is studied. The objective is to design a proper stacking sequence, capable of avoiding intralaminar damage (crack jumping), to enable the fracture toughness characterization under pure mode I. The result of this study shows that the higher the crack arm bending stiffness, the lower the tendency to crack jumping. This phenomenon is also studied experimentally and the same conclusion is drawn.