TY - JOUR
T1 - Bridging effects for through-thickness reinforced laminates
AU - Chen, Tianyu
AU - Zhang, Yanjun
AU - Harvey, Christopher M.
AU - Liu, Yiding
AU - Wang, Simon
AU - Zhang, Xiang
AU - Silberschmidt, Vadim V.
N1 - © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved.
PY - 2024/12/21
Y1 - 2024/12/21
N2 - The delamination growth resistance of laminates can be enhanced through bridging effects. Despite the potential to deliver improved mechanical performance, there are very few works that investigate bridging effects analytically, which could be used to facilitate the design and assessment of laminates. In this work, a novel analytical model is developed to assess the crack driving force (energy release rate, or J-integral) of a mode-I crack for z-pin-reinforced laminates using the double cantilever beam (DCB) configuration. To study bridging effects, a J-integral reduction factor and force enhancement are defined based on the developed model. Two critical conditions are established for the crack driving force being zero, namely, the crack's complete closure, and zero crack-tip force balance. The analytical solutions are studied and validated for the cases of single-pinned and multiple-pinned DCB, showing excellent agreement with both numerical simulations and experiments. The developed theory can also be employed to study other types of through-thickness reinforcement and is readily applicable for assessment and design of laminate structures to improve their delamination growth resistance and fracture behavior.
AB - The delamination growth resistance of laminates can be enhanced through bridging effects. Despite the potential to deliver improved mechanical performance, there are very few works that investigate bridging effects analytically, which could be used to facilitate the design and assessment of laminates. In this work, a novel analytical model is developed to assess the crack driving force (energy release rate, or J-integral) of a mode-I crack for z-pin-reinforced laminates using the double cantilever beam (DCB) configuration. To study bridging effects, a J-integral reduction factor and force enhancement are defined based on the developed model. Two critical conditions are established for the crack driving force being zero, namely, the crack's complete closure, and zero crack-tip force balance. The analytical solutions are studied and validated for the cases of single-pinned and multiple-pinned DCB, showing excellent agreement with both numerical simulations and experiments. The developed theory can also be employed to study other types of through-thickness reinforcement and is readily applicable for assessment and design of laminate structures to improve their delamination growth resistance and fracture behavior.
KW - Bridging effects
KW - Crack driving force
KW - Delamination
KW - Fracture toughness
KW - Pinned laminates
KW - Through-thickness reinforcement
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85213860074&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.compscitech.2024.111026
DO - 10.1016/j.compscitech.2024.111026
M3 - Article
SN - 0266-3538
VL - 261
SP - 1
EP - 15
JO - Composites Science and Technology
JF - Composites Science and Technology
M1 - 111026
ER -