Fatigue delamination growth in textile-reinforced plastics under combined interlaminar shear and compression: Numerical and experimental characterization

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

In this work, the crack growth behavior of three textile-reinforced composites under the combined loading of interlaminar shear and through-thickness compression was investigated. Composites were manufactured by resin-transfer molding using three different plain weave carbon fiber textile reinforcements, all with the same carbon fiber roving but varying areal weights, to study the influence of ondulation on fatigue crack growth. Specimens with a hole-notch geometry were tested under four different static load superpositions of F z=0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0kN, corresponding to σ z=0.0, 2.0, 4.0 and 8.0MPa. Cyclic loading with a force ratio of R=0.1 was applied with amplitudes of F x,a=2.25, 2.70 and 3.15kN. A modified digital image correlation method measured crack tip opening displacements to derive energy release rates. Furthermore, a Python-based numerical model simulated strain fields and fracture properties, validated against experimental strain data to ensure accuracy. The model also employed the J-integral method to independently compute energy release rates, verifying experimental assumptions and improving the understanding of fracture mechanisms in textile-reinforced composites. Both the optical measurement method and the model showed comparable results.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number119384
Number of pages18
JournalComposite Structures
Volume371
Early online date2 Jul 2025
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-6817-1020/work/187559824
ORCID /0000-0003-1370-064X/work/187561105
ORCID /0000-0002-2280-7580/work/187562216
Scopus 105010208801
WOS 001538403200001

Keywords

Keywords

  • Mixed-Mode loading, Textile reinforcements, Numerical analysis, Biaxial testing, Cyclic fatigue crack growth, Delamination, Digital image correlation