Mode I fatigue delamination growth in composite laminates with fibre bridging

Advanced composite materials have been commonly used in aerospace engineering, because of their good mechanical properties and attractive potential for creating lightweight structures. Susceptibility to delamination is one of the most important issues in the applications of these materials. This disadvantage can prohibit the application of...

Delamination and debonding failure of laminated composite T-joints

Composites are increasingly being used in aerospace, automotive and other industries. The T-joint (also named stringer stiffened skin) is a typical connection, broadly used in thin-walled structures, such as the wing and fuselage of aircraft. This thesis presents the analysis of the delamination and debonding failure of laminated composite T...

Methods for the prediction of fatigue delamination growth in composites and adhesive bonds: A critical review

An overview is given of the development of methods for the prediction of fatigue driven delamination growth over the past 40 years. Four categories of methods are identified: stress/strain-based models, fracture mechanics based models, cohesive-zone models, and models using the extended finite element method. It is highlighted that most models...

Unravelling the corrosion protection mechanism of silyl ester by combined electrochemistry and x-ray computed tomography

Recently, encapsulated silyl esters have been shown to act as efficient healing agents for self-healing anticorrosive coatings. While the positive protective effects were irrefutable, the actual protection mechanism has not been clarified yet. In this study, x-ray computed ?-tomography and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy have been...

Damage evolution in GLARE fibre-metal laminate under repeated low-velocity impact tests

An experimental study was performed on the repeated low-velocity impact behaviour of GLARE. Damage evolution in the material constituents was characterised with successive number of impacts. Records were correlated with visual inspection, ultrasound C-scan and chemical etching. The stiffness of the plate varied when cumulating the number of...

Discontinuities in materials and structures: A unifying computational approach

Failure mechanisms in materials and structures can be studied on different length scales. On a structural level, failure can be observed as the propagation of a single crack. However, when zooming into the apparent crack tip, it is revealed that the actual failure process is set by the nucleation and growth of multiple micro-cracks that together...

Numerical analysis of failure mechanisms in fibre metal laminates

Numerical assessment of failure mechanisms in fibre metal laminates

In this contribution numerical models are discussed for describing failure mechanisms in fibre metal laminates. Fibre metal laminates form a new class of materials which are considered for a possible application to the fuselage of future aircraft generations. The intensive experimental analyses of these materials are focused on the assessment of...