Analysis on fracture behaviour of stitched foam sandwich composites using interlaminar tension test

Sandwich composites are susceptible to interfacial delamination, owing to the mismatches in the material properties between the face sheets and core. Previous studies have shown that stitching can improve the performance of sandwich composites. In this study, an analysis approach was developed to investigate the fracture behaviour of stitched foam sandwich composites. The stitched foam sandwich composites were manufactured by a vacuum-assisted resin transfer moulding process. Interlaminar tension tests revealed the effects of the linear thread density on the failure mechanisms of the stitched foam sandwich composites. Asymmetric double cantilever beam tests were performed to investigate the influences of the stitch thread reinforcement on the fracture behaviour. An analytical approach combining extended finite element method and nonlinear spring elements was proposed to predict the failure behaviour of the stitched sandwich composites. Experiment and simulation approaches were employed to investigate the influences of the stitch parameters (stitch pitch and linear thread density) on the ultimate load and energy absorption. The results show that stitched method can significantly enhance the mechanical properties of sandwich composites. The energy absorption and ultimate load values of the specimens tend to increase with an increase in the linear thread density or a decrease in the stitch pitch.