SEDL / STP / STP907-EB / STP19986S

Delamination Arrester—An Adhesive Inner Layer in Laminated Composites

Chan, WS
Senior engineering specialist, Research Group, Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, TX

Pages: 21    Published: Jan 1986

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Abstract

Delamination arrestment in laminated composites has been achieved by using tough adhesive strips embedded in the interior of the laminate. For (± 30²/90³/∓30²)^T and (±35/0/90)^s laminates, edge delamination was arrested under both static and fatigue tension loadings. For the (±30²/90³/∓30²)^T laminates, delamination was delayed and fatigue life was significantly increased. These results are attributed to the G¹ component of the total strain-energy release rate decreasing as delamination approaches the adhesive strip region. It is suggested that the initiation of delamination for both static and fatigue loadings is mainly due to the highest G¹ component in the laminate, not the total G. A characterization of fatigue behavior is discussed. It was found that delamination growth rate decreases as the number of fatigue cycles increases.