Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Mixed-Mode Fracture Properties of Woven Laminated Composite

Delamination is a major problem associated with composite materials that reduce the stiffness of structure used in aerospace, marine and automotive technology. Interlaminar fracture toughness, non dimensional stress intensity factors and delamination crack growth behavior were investigated for carbon fiber (CF)-polyester laminates. All tests were performed with modified version of Arcan specimen. By changing the loading angles in range of 0-90°, mode-I, mode-II and all mixed mode fracture toughness data were obtained. Correction factors were obtained with finite element analysis using Abaqus software. By employing experimentally measured critical loads and the aid of the finite element method, mixed-mode fracture toughness for the composite under consideration determined. The fracture surfaces of the CF-P under different mixed-mode loading conditions were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to gain insight into the failure responses.