Paavai Institutions Department of AERO

UNIT-III

LAMINATED PLATES
 Paavai Institutions Department of AERO

S.NO TERM TECHNICAL MEANING LITERAL MEANING

1 LAMINA A Single Piece Of Ply a thin plate or scale

A Stack Of Plies arranged in some a laminated structure or

2 LAMINATE
orientation. material.

A laminate is called an angle-ply laminate if

3 ANGLE PLY it has layers of the same thickness and -
material, and are oriented at θ and −θ.

A laminate is called a cross-ply laminate if

4 CROSS PLY -
all the layers have the orientation 0° and 90°.

A material is isotropic if its mechanical and

thermal properties are the same in all
5 ORTHOTROPIC -
directions. A material is orthotropic if its
mechanical or thermal properties are unique
and independent in three mutually
Anisotropic
perpendicularmaterials are materials whose
directions.
6 ANISOTROPIC properties vary when measured in different -
directions.

A laminate is called symmetric when the

7 Symmetric Laminate material, angle, and thickness of the layers -
are the same above and below the midplane.
A laminate is called antisymmetric when the
Antisymmetric material and thickness of the layers are the
8 -
Laminate same above and below the midplane, but the
orientation of the layers have opposite signs
above
A and below
laminate theamidplane.
is called balanced laminate
when it has pairs of layers of the same
9 Balanced Laminate -
thickness and material, and the angles of the
layers have opposite signs. Balanced
laminates can also have layers at 0° and 90°.
Paavai Institutions Department of AERO
 UNIT III
Introduction:

In this lecture we are going to introduce the concept of laminate and its analysis based on
Classical Laminate Theory. Further, we will introduce the notations to designate a laminate
and will explain in detail the development of the classical laminate theory.

As we have studied earlier, laminate is defined as stacking of two or more laminae with same
or different fibre orientation with respect to global direction. The laminae may be made of
same or different material and have individual thicknesses.

Stacking Sequence Notation:

A laminate is designated by using a special nomenclature. In this nomenclature, the fibre

orientation of all layers stacked in the laminate is given. In the following the main steps are
given to designate a laminate.

1. The stacking of layers starts from the top of the laminate.

2. The stacking sequence gives the orientation of fibres with respect to global axis in
degrees.
3. The stacking sequence is enclosed in square brackets symbol,
4. The distinct layers or groups of layers are separated with a slash symbol, /.
5. For repeated groups or layers, subscript n is used to designate.
6. The symmetric laminate is designated by subscript S on the square bracket, that is, by

7. The total stacking sequence is designated by subscript T, that is, by . However,

in general, this is not used for denoting a complete stacking sequence.

To help the readers to understand the designation of stacking sequence of laminates, in the
following Table 5.1, some laminate sequences, their description and total number of laminae
in that laminate are given. A laminate with coordinate system and ply numbering is shown in
Figure 5.1(a).

Note: In some of the books on composites and research articles the coordinate systems used
have z direction positive in upward direction. In that case the stacking of layers in a laminate
starts from the bottom. Accordingly, the ply top and bottom coordinate designation also
changes. However, the end results remain unchanged.

Table 5.1: Sample laminate stacking sequence notations and their description

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

 Laminate Description Layers
One layer each of and 3

One layer of and 2

Two layer of 2

Two layers of (in a group of 3

two layers) and one layer of
Symmetric with and 4
layers
Symmetric with and 8

and layers
Symmetric with two groups 16
of and two groups
of and layers
Symmetric with one layer of 4

and one layer of

Symmetric 12
with and
layers

Laminate Coordinate System:

The coordinate systems for global and principal material directions for laminae are same as
given earlier. Here, we introduce the coordinates in the thickness direction to get the z
coordinate of the top and bottom of each ply. For example, the bottom coordinate of the kth
ply is and the top coordinate of the ply is . Thus, the bottom coordinate of the first ply is and
the top coordinate of top ply is . The total thickness of the laminate is taken as 2H. Thus, the
bottom most coordinate of the laminate is –H and top most coordinate is H. The lamina
thickness coordinate notations are shown in Figure 5.1(b).

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

 Figure 5.1: (a) Stacking of laminae in a laminate and
(b) coordinate designation for laminate

Classical Laminate Theory:

The classical laminate theory is a direct extension of the classical plate theory for isotropic
and homogeneous material as proposed by Kirchhoff –Love (see [1, 2] for details). However,
the extension of this theory to laminates requires some modifications to take into account the
inhomogeneity in thickness direction. In the following, the assumptions made in this theory
along with the assumptions made for classical plate theory are given.

Assumptions of Classical Lamination Theory:

1. The laminate consists of perfectly bonded layers. There is no slip between the
adjacent layers. In other words, it is equivalent to saying that the displacement
components are continuous through the thickness.
2. Each lamina is considered to be a homogeneous layer such that its effective properties
are known.
3. Each lamina is in a state of plane stress.
4. The individual lamina can be isotropic, orthotropic or transversely isotropic.
5. The laminate deforms according to the Kirchhoff - Love assumptions for bending and
stretching of thin plates (as assumed in classical plate theory). The assumptions are:
a. The normals to the mid-plane remain straight and normal to the midplane even
after deformation.
b. The normals to the mid-plane do not change their lengths.

The classical laminate theory is abbreviated as CLT. This theory is known as the classical
laminated plate theory and abbreviated as CLPT.

Displacement Field:

The strain-displacement field is derived using two approaches. In the first approach the
deformation of the laminate according to the Kirchhoff - Love assumptions for bending and
stretching is used. The undeformed and deformed geometries of laminate are used to develop
the displacement field. In the second approach the transverse strain components resulting
from the above assumptions are used. Further, using mathematical definitions of these strain
components the displacement field is obtained. Thus, from this displacement field all strain
components are obtained.

First Approach:

The Figure 5.2(a) shows the geometry of a laminate in undeformed configuration and Figure
5.2(b) shows the deformed geometry according to Kirchhoff-Love assumptions in xz plane.
Any generic normal to the undeformed mid-plane remains normal to the deformed mid-plane.
This assumption results in zero transverse shear strains, that is, . However, due to stretching
action the point of intersection of midplane and a normal moves by a distance along x axis.
Further, the same point moves by distance in z direction due to bending action. The second
assumption that the normal to the mid-plane does not change in length requires that the
Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082
transverse normal strain, that is, . This holds true when the transverse deflection of any point
in the laminate is independent of z location, that is, it is a function of x and y only and a
constant for a given x and y location. So, we can write

(5.1)

Now, from the figure it is easy to find the slope of the deformed mid-plane as

(5.2)

Since, the deformations in this theory considered are very small, we can write

(5.3)

Figure 5.2: Laminate geometry (a) undeformed and (b) deformed

Now consider a generic point P on the mid-plane which is located at distance z from the mid-
plane. After deformation, the displacement of this point along x direction can be given from
the Figure 5.2 as

(5.4)

Similarly, for the deformation in yz plane we can express the slope of the deformed mid-plane
as . Thus, the displacement of a generic point along y axis can be given as

(5.5)

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Thus, the complete displacement field for a generic point in the laminate according to the
classical laminate theory is given below:

(5.6)

Note that the displacements , and correspond to the mid-plane.

Hence, they are called mid-plane displacements.

Second Approach:

The second assumption is that the length of the normal to the mid-plane does not change even
after deformation results into zero transverse normal strain. Thus,

(5.7)

Thus, from this expression it is clear that is a function of and coordinates only. Thus,
for any given location we can write the transverse deflection component as

(5.8)

From the first assumption of the Kirchhoff-Love theory that the normals remain straight and
normal to mid-plane even after deformation, results into zero transverse shear strains. Thus,
.

Using the definitions of small strain, we can write the above equation as

(5.9)

From the first of the above equation we can write

Integrating this with respect to z, we get

(5.10)

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

where is a constant of integration which is function of x and y alone. Similarly, from
the second of Equation (5.9), we can get

(5.11)

Thus, Equations (5.8), (5.10) and (5.11) lead to the displacement field as in Equation (5.6).

Strain Displacements Relations:

The strain displacement relations for infinitesimal strains using the displacement field as in
Equation (5.6) can be given as

(5.12)

The above equation can be written as

(5.13)

where are the midplane strains

and represents the midplane

curvatures. The terms and are the bending moment curvatures and is the
twisting moment curvature.

Note: It is clear from Equation (5.6) and Equation (5.13) that the midplane strains

and the curvatures are independent of z location.

Note: From Equation (5.13), we see that the strains are continuous through the thickness of
laminate and they vary linearly.

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

 State of Stress in a Laminate:

The stresses at any location can be calculated from the strains and lamina constitutive
relations. It is assumed that the lamina properties are known. Hence, the constitutive
equation for a kth lamina is known, that is, the reduced stiffness matrices (in principal
material directions and global directions) are known. Thus, the stresses in kth lamina can be
given as

(5.14)

Now, using Equation (5.13), we can write the stresses as

(5.15)

In these equations, the strains are given at a z location where the stresses are required. It
should be noted that the strains are continuous and vary linearly through the thickness. If
we look at the stress distribution through the thickness it is clear that the stresses are not
continuous through the thickness, because the stiffness is different for different laminae in
thickness direction. In a lamina the stress varies linearly. The slope of this variation in a
lamina depends upon its moduli. However, at the interface of two adjacent laminae there is
a discontinuity in the stresses. The same thing is depicted in Figure 5.3 with three layers.

Figure 5.3: Elucidation of stress discontinuity at lamina interfaces in a laminate

Note: The reduced transformed stiffness matrix forkth lamina used in Equation (5.15)
is the same as in the chapter on Planar Constitutive Equations. There we considered the
state of stress as planar and the transverse normal strain was not zero. However, in this
laminate theory we have plane stress assumption as well as all transverse strains are zero
(plane strain conditions as well). Thus, we have an anomaly of transverse normal strains in
using Equation (5.14). However, we will use this reduced transformed stiffness for a
lamina. Inspite of this anomaly, the laminate theory works well (within its own scope). A
detailed study on this issue can be seen in literature. However, this issue is out of scope of
this course and will not be dealt with here.

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 Inplane Resultant Forces:

The inplane forces per unit length are defined as

(5.16)

Or these can be written as

(5.17)

Now, using Equation (5.15) we can write

(5.18)

Now recall that the midplane strains and the curvatures are independent of
z location. The reduced transformed stiffness matrix is function of thickness and
constant over a given lamina thickness. Now we can replace the integration over the
laminate thickness as sum of the integrations over individual lamina thicknesses. Thus,
Equation (5.18) can be written as

(5.19)

Here, is the total number of layers in the laminate. This equation can be written as

(5.20)

where

(5.21)

The matrix represents the in-plane stiffness, that is, it relates the in-plane forces with
mid-plane strains and the matrix represents the bending stiffness coupling, that is, it
relates the in-plane forces with mid-plane curvatures.

It should be noted that the matrices and are symmetric as the matrix is also
symmetric for each lamina in the laminate.
The resultant in-plane forces are shown in Figure 5.4.

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

 Figure 5.4: In plane resultant forces per unit length on a laminate

Resultant Moments:

The resultant moments per unit length are defined as

(5.22)

Or these can be written as

(5.23)

Now, using Equation (5.15) we can write,

(5.24)

Now, with the same justification as given for Equation (5.19), we can write the above
equation as

(5.25)

This can be written as

(5.26)

where

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 (5.27)

The matrix represents the bending stiffness, that is, it relates resultant moments with mid-
plane curvatures. Again, the matrix is also symmetric. Further, it is important to note that
the matrix relates the resultant moments with mid-plane curvatures as well.

Figure 5.5: Resultant moments per unit length on a laminate

Laminate Constitutive Relations 128_5_128_5

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

 Introduction:

In the previous lecture we have introduced the laminate theory. In this lecture we are going to
develop laminate constitute equations for classical laminate theory. In the previous lecture we
have introduced the in-plane stress resultants and resultant moments. These resultant
quantities will be related to mid-plane strains and curvatures. Further, we will introduce
classification of laminates.

Laminate Constitutive Relations:

Using Equations (5.18) and (5.24) we can write a combined equation as

(5.28)

This equation is the fundamental equation in classical laminate theory and is known as
constitutive equation. This equation can be written in expanded form as

(5.29)

It should be noted that the matrices A, B and D are symmetric. Hence, the matrix in above
equation is also a symmetric matrix. The inverse constitutive relations of Equation (5.28) can
be written as

(5.30)

The matrix is obtained by using individual relations for and as follows. We

write for and as

(5.31)

From the first of the above equation we can write

(5.32)

PuttingMaterials
Composite this in second of Equation16082
and Structures-AE (5.31) we get

(5.33)
We define

(5.34)

We make a note that and we can write

Using the above definitions, Equation (5.32) and Equation (5.33) can be written together as

(5.35)

The above equation is called as partially inverted constitutive equation for laminate. From
the second of the above equation we write

(5.36)

Putting this in Equation (5.35) we can get for as

(5.37)

Let us define

(5.38)

Combining Equations (5.37) and (5.36) and using the definitions in Equation (5.38), we can
write

(5.39)

This equation is the fully inverted form of laminate constitutive equation. Using Equation
(5.34) in Equation (5.38) we can write the above equation in terms of A, B and D matrices as

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

 (5.40)

From this equation it is easy to deduce that

(5.41)

The full matrix is symmetric. This also follows from the fact that this is an

inverse of a symmetric matrix, that is , and the inverse of a symmetric matrix is also
a symmetric matrix.

Equation (5.28) and Equation (5.39) are very important equations in laminate analysis. These
equations relate the mid-plane strains and curvatures with resultant in-plane forces and
moments and vice versa.

Classification of Laminates:

In this section we are going to classify the laminates depending upon the stacking sequence
nature. This classification is very helpful in the laminate analysis as some of the coupling
terms become zero under specific laminate sequence and their arrangement with respect to
the midplane.

Symmetric Laminates:

A laminate is called symmetric when the material, angle and thickness of the layers are the
same above and below the mid-plane. For example laminate is shown in Figure
5.6(a).
For symmetric laminates the matrix B is zero. This can be proved as follows:

Consider two layers r and s which have the same material, angle and thickness and are
located symmetrically with respect to the mid-plane as shown in Figure 5.7. For these layers
we can write the relation about the reduced stiffness matrix entries as

(5.28)

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

 Figure 5.6: Classification of laminates examples (a) Symmetric laminate (b)
Cross-ply laminate (c) Angle-ply laminate (d) Anti-symmetric laminate and (e)
Balanced laminate

The symmetry of location of these layers results in the following relation

(5.43)

For these two layers, the contribution of to B matrix of the laminate is

(5.44)

which upon substituting Equations (5.42) and (5.43) becomes

(5.45)

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

From this derivation it is very clear that the contribution of any pair of symmetric layers to B
matrix is always zero. Thus, the B matrix is zero for symmetric laminates. However, one can
show that the matrices A and D are not zero for symmetric laminates.

Figure 5.7: Coordinates for a pair of symmetric

layers

The constitutive equation for symmetric laminates (with ) becomes

(5.46)

The inverse constitutive relations can be given as

(5.47)

This equation is consistent with Equation (5.39) through Equation (5.40). Setting in
Equation (5.40), we get

(5.48)

Thus, we can write Equation (5.39) or Equation (5.47) as

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 (5.49)

Note: For symmetric laminates B matrix is zero. It means that there is no coupling between
extension and bending action. Thus, the applied stresses will produce only in-plane and shear
strains and it will not produce any curvatures. Thus, it is easy to understand that the mid-
plane strains will be the strains in each ply.

Note: For symmetric laminates, the A and D matrices can be given as

(5.50)

For symmetric laminates, the uncoupling between extension and bending makes the analysis
of laminates simpler. This is very useful because during thermal cooling down in the
processing of such laminates there will not be any twisting due thermal loads.

Cross-Ply Laminates:

A laminate is called cross-ply laminate if all the plies used to fabricate the laminate are only
and

For example is shown in Figure 5.6 (b).

For a cross ply laminate the terms . This is
because these terms involve the terms and which have the products of mn terms.
This product is zero for any cross-ply. Thus, the terms and are identically zero for
each ply.

Note: For a cross-ply following relations hold true. The readers should verify these
relations from earlier lectures on planar constitutive relations.

(5.51)

Angle-Ply Laminates:

A laminate is called angle-ply laminate if it has plies of the same thickness and material and
are oriented at and . For example is shown in Figure 5.6(c).
For angle-ply laminates the terms are zero. This can be justified by that fact that

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

 and have the term mn. Due to this term and have opposite signs for layers
with and fibre orientation. Since the thicknesses and materials of these layers are
same, by the definition the terms are zero for the laminate.

Note: For angle-ply laminates the following relations are very useful in computing
and .

(5.52)

Anti-symmetric Laminates:

A laminate is called anti-symmetric when the material and thickness of the plies are same
above and below the mid-plane but the orientation of the plies at same distance above and
below the mid-plane have opposite signs. For example, is shown in
Figure 5.6(d).
For anti-symmetric laminates the terms . The proof is left to
the readers as an exercise.

Balanced Laminates:

A laminate is called balanced laminate when it has pairs of plies with same thickness and
material and the angles of plies are and . However, the balanced laminate can also
have layers oriented at and . For this laminate also are zero. It should be
noted that angle-ply laminates are balanced laminates. For example,
is shown in Figure 5.6(e).

Specially Orthotropic Laminates:

The laminates for which the terms are zero are called specially orthotropic
laminates. It is clear that such laminates do not show coupling between in-plane extensional
and shear responses.

Note that the cross-ply, angle-ply and anti-symmetric laminates are specially orthotropic
laminates. These laminates by their design have . For cross-ply laminates, the
terms and are identically zero. Hence, there is no restriction on the lamina thickness
for cross-ply laminate to be a specially orthotropic laminate. However, for an angle ply and
anti-symmetric laminates the thicknesses of a pair of and laminate should be same.

Other specially orthotropic laminates includes the combination of cross-ply and angle ply
Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082
laminates .

For example,

Quasi-Isotropic Laminates:

A laminate is called quasi-isotropic when its extensional stiffness matrix behaves like an
isotropic material. This requires that , and .
Further, this extensional stiffness matrix is independent of orientation of layers in laminate.
This requires a laminate with equal thickness layers and N equal angles between
adjacent fibre orientations. The N equal angles, between the fibre orientations in this case
can be given as

(5.53)

The quasi-isotropic laminate with this construction for N=3, 4 and 6 will have fibre
orientations as shown in Figure 5.8.

Figure 5.8: Fibre orientations in a typical quasi-isotropic laminates

It should be noted that the isotropy in these laminates is in-plane only. The matrices B and D
may not behave like an isotropic material. Hence, such laminates are quasi-isotropic in
nature.

Some examples of quasi-isotropic laminate are: , .

Examples:

Calculate , and for following laminate sequences.

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

Note: In all following examples, each lamina has a thickness of 1 mm and material is
AS4/3501-6 Epoxy from Soden et al [4].

Example 5.1: Cross-ply laminate with two layers

Solution: The matrix for this material is calculated as

Now, matrix for and is calculated as

Equation (5.51) can be used for calculation.

For this laminate, , as shown in Figure 5.9(a). The entries of
, and are calculated as:

that is,

which gives

and

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 which gives,

Example 5.2: Cross-ply laminate with three layers

Solution: , and will be the same as in Example 5.1. For this laminate
as shown in Figure 5.9(b). The entries of ,
and are calculated as:

that is,

Now we calculate

That results in .

Note: is a symmetric laminate. Hence, can be directly written without

any calculations.

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Thus,

Figure 5.9: Example problems (a) Example 5.1 laminate (b) Example
5.2 laminate

Figure 5.10: Example problems (a) Example 5.3 laminate (b)

Example 5.4 laminate

Example 5.3: Angle-ply symmetric laminate .

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Solution: The coordinates for this laminate are shown in Figure 5.10 (a). For this laminate
. is the same as in Example 5.1. Now, for
and is calculated below.

Thus,

Since the laminate is symmetric, .

Putting the values of and , we get

Note: In this example, the middle two layers of 1 mm thickness can be treated as one
layer of layer with 2 mm thickness. The A, B and D matrices should be the same. The
readers are suggested to check this.

Example 5.4: Angle-ply anti-symmetric laminate

Solution: The coordinates for this laminate is shown in Figure 5.10(b). Here,
. is the same as in Example 5.1. for
and are the same as in Example 5.3.

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 is the same as in Example 5.3.

This gives,

Now we calculate matrix D as

Putting and gives

Example 5.5: laminate

Solution: This is a general laminate and does not follow in any category of classification.
Hence, we can call it as an unsymmteric laminate. Further, in this laminate there are two
layers of and 3 layers of fibre orientation. Since, thickness of each layer is 1 mm, we
can consider this laminate as one layer of fibre orientation with thickness of 2 mm and
one layer of fibre orientation with thickness of 3 mm. This is shown in Figure 5.11.

Here, . and are the same as in

earlier examples.
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A matrix is calculated as

This gives us

Matrix B is calculated as

Thus,

Now matrix D is calculated as

which gives,

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 Figure 5.11: Example problem 5.5, (a) Actual laminate (b) Equivalent
laminate

Example 5.6: Find the partially and fully inverted form of laminate constitutive equation for
laminate in Example 5.5.

Solution:
First we find as

is calculated as

is given as

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 is calculated as

Thus,

Now, the partially inverted constitutive equation for laminate can be written as

Now we will obtain the fully inverted laminate constitutive equation.

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

Thus, the fully inverted laminate constitutive equation can be written as

Example 5.7: Consider Example 5.3. Let this laminate be subjected to the forces
, and . Calculate global strains
and stresses in each ply.

Solution: The laminate in this example is a symmetric laminate. Hence, B matrix is zero. It
means that there is no coupling between extension and bending actions. Thus, the applied
stresses will produce only in-plane and shear strains and it will not produce any curvatures.
Thus, it is easy to understand that the mid-plane strains will be the strains in each ply.

We can find the mid-plane strains as follows:

Composite Materials and Structures-AE 16082

This gives

Thus,

The strains are same in all layers. However, the stresses in each layer will be different as their
stiffnesses are different.

Stresses in layer are

And stresses in layer are

Now, let us find the strains and stresses in principal material directions as well for these
laminae.

Let us transform the strains in layer as

Similarly, the strains in layer in principal directions are

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Now, stresses in principal directions in layer are

And stresses in principal material directions for layer are

Failure and Damage

Failure of a structure or a system, in general, refers to the condition that the structure or
system stops functioning satisfactorily. The criteria to decide the satisfactory functioning can
be subjective or quantitative. In general, in engineering applications the failure is quantified
using various criteria. The following are some of the criteria used to quantify a failure:

1. Strength
2. Form failure
3. Stiffness
4. Yielding
5. Fatigue life
6. Bending
7. Corrosion resistance
8. Impact resistance
9. Resistance to lightening
10. Resistance to hazardous environmental agents

However, the list is in-exhaustive with many such criteria. In general, failure is understood as
complete de-functioning of the structure.

In case of composites, the failure of a lamina or laminate needs special attention. In case of
laminates there are a number of local failures before it completely breaks into two or more
pieces. The local level failure is called as “damage”. In case of fibrous composites the term
“local” refers to the individual constituent phases – fibre and matrix. Thus, damage in case of
fibrous composites is a micro level event.

It is important to note that the ultimate failure (rupture/breaking) of the laminate takes place
by gradual accumulation of damage. In turn, this is manifested at the lamina or laminate level
by some form of failure. Thus, the “first failure” in laminates does not mean the “final
failure”. The development of additional local failures with increasing loads or time is termed
as “damage accumulation”. The terms “damage growth” and “damage propagation” are
equivalently used for damage accumulation. The branch of mechanics which deals with the
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study of initiation and accumulation of damage until and including complete rupture is called
as “damage mechanics”.

In this lecture we are going to see the fibre-matrix level failure mechanisms in detail. The
failure at lamina/laminate or macro-level is the ultimate result of the local failures. Thus, the
understanding of these mechanisms is a key point in the development of a reliable and
accurate failure theory for laminated composites. Further, this understanding also helps in
developing new materials with higher strength.

Defects in Composites

The following are the types of defects that generally occur in a composite:

1) Fibre-matrix
8) Matrix cracking and crazing
debonding
9) Density variation (due to resin
2) Fibre misalignment
distribution)
3) Cut or broken fibres 10) Improper curing of resin
4) Delamination 11) Impact damage (tool drop)
5) Inclusions 12) Abrasion and scratches
6) Voids and blisters 13) Machining problems
7) Wrinkles

Sources of Defects and Damages in Composite:

There are two main sources which can introduce defects and/or damage in a composite.
These two sources are:

1. Fabrication or processing defects and

2. In-field or service defects

The defects in these two categories are listed below.

1) Fabrication or Processing Defects:

The defects that can occur during fabrication or processing are listed below:

1. Abrasions, scratches, dents and punctures

2. Cut fibres
3. Knots and kinks in fibres
4. Improper splicing (joining) of layers
5. Voids (due to poor processing, high humidity)
6. Inferior quality of the materials used

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 7. Improper curing of resin
8. Resin rich or resin lean areas due to improper distribution of resin
9. Inclusions and contamination
10. Mandrel removal problem
11. Machining problems
12. Improper tooling
13. Tool drop causing low energy impact which results in impact damage

2) In-field or Service Defects:

The defects that can occur during in-field or service are listed below:

1. Shock
2. Environmental cycle of temperature and humidity
3. Exposure to hazardous chemicals
4. Exposure to radiations
5. Bacterial degradation
6. Vibrations
7. Improper handling and storage
8. Tool drop
9. Abrasions, dents and punctures
10. Corrosion
11. Erosion due to sand and dust
12. Improper maintenance or repair

Damage Mechanisms in Fibrous Composites:

The damage mechanisms in a fibrous composite are broadly categorized as:

1. Micro-level damage mechanisms

2. Macro-level damage mechanisms and
3. Coupled micro-macro-level damage mechanisms

The local level mechanisms are further subcategorized based on constituent level as

i. Fibre level damage mechanisms

ii. Matrix level damage mechanisms and

iii. Coupled fibre-matrix level damage mechanisms

A. Micro-level Damage Mechanisms:

First, we will look at the micro-level mechanisms in detail as follows:

a) Fibre Level Damage Mechanisms:

The fibre failure mode is considered to be the most catastrophic mode of failure in laminates.
This is because the fibre is the load carrying constituent. The failure of fibres can take place

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due to various stress components. The damage mechanisms for fibre are explained below in
detail.

1) Fibre Fracture/Breaking:

The fibre breaks into two or more pieces along its length when the axial tensile stress (or
strain) in the fibre exceeds the axial strength (or maximum allowable strain) of the fibre. This
kind of fracture occurs in brittle fibres. Such fractures are more catastrophic in nature than
other modes of fibre failure.
The fibre fracture may also take place in shearing when the shear stress or strain exceeds the
maximum allowable stress or strain.
The fibre fracture is depicted in Figure 6.1(a).

2) Fibre Buckling or Kinking:

This type of failure occurs when the axial load on the fibre is compressive in nature. The
axial compressive stress causes the fibre to buckle. This form of fibre failure is also called as
fibre kinking. The critical stress at which the kinking takes place is function of material
properties of fibre and matrix properties and the distribution of fibres in the matrix. In
general, the fibre kinking first starts at the site of fibre misalignment or local defects.

It is seen that the kinking of fibres takes place in a sharply defined region. This region is
called as kink band. In general, the kink band is oriented at an angle with respect to fibre
direction.
This mechanism is one of the key failure mechanisms for laminates under compression. This
failure mechanism triggers the other failure mechanisms leading to a complex and inter-
related mechanisms.

The fibre kinking is depicted in Figure 6.1(b).

3) Fibre Bending:

The bending of fibre can take place under flexural load. The bending of fibres also depends
upon the properties of fibre and matrix along with the fibre arrangement.
The fibre bending is shown in Figure 6.1(c).

4) Fibre Splitting:

The fibre fails in this mode when the transverse or hoop stresses in the fibre exceeds the
maximum allowable value. Further, this can also happen when these stresses in the
interface/interphase region (region in matrix very close to the fibre) exceed the maximum
allowable stress. The fibre splitting is elucidated in Figure 6.1(d).

5) Fibre Radial Cracking:

The hoop stresses can also cause the radial cracking of the fibre. This type of cracking is seen
in some of the fibres. The radial cracking of a fibre is shown in Figure 6.1(e).

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b) Matrix Level Damage Mechanisms:

There are two main damage mechanisms in matrix. These are: Matrix cracking and fibre
interfacial debonding. These are explained below.

1) Matrix Cracking:

When the stress in the matrix exceeds the strength of the matrix, matrix cracks are
developed. There are two types of matrix cracks that are developed in a unidirectional
lamina. The cracks are either perpendicular or parallel to the fibre direction. In the first
type, the cracks are developed when axial stress in the lamina is tensile in nature. In the
second type, the cracks are developed when the in-plane transverse stress in the lamina is
tensile in nature.

It is generally seen that the matrix cracks develop along the preferred directions in
unidirectional lamina. The matrix cracks which are parallel to the fibre direction cause
significant modulus degradation whereas the matrix cracks which are perpendicular to the
fibre direction cause less degradation in modulus. The first mode of damage is very critical
as one of them causes significant degradation. The second mode can go undetected
sometimes. This is very dangerous from safety point of view. For example, for gas pipes
leakage is an important criterion. If such damage is not detectable, it can lead to a
catastrophe. This damage is shown in Figure 6.2(a), (b).

2) Fibre Interfacial Cracking:

When the in-plane transverse stresses in matrix are tensile in nature, the weaker interface
between fibre and matrix is broken. A crack in the matrix region at this location is initiated.
This crack grows along the fibre length. This leads to the debonding of the interphase
between fibre and matrix. This mode of damage is also called “transverse fibre debonding”.
This damage is shown in Figure 6.2(c).

Figure 6.1: Fibre-level damage mechanisms

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c) Coupled Fibre-Matrix Level Mechanisms:

1) Fibre Pullout:

The fibre pullout takes place when the bonding between fibre and matrix is weakened and the
fibres are subjected to tensile stresses. If the fibres are already broken then the fibres just
slide through the matrix and come out of it. This phenomenon is called fibre pullout.

The fibre pullout is shown in Figure 6.3(a).

2) Fibre Breakage and Interfacial Debonding:

When the fibres break the interface close to the tip of broken fibre, acts as a site of stress
concentration. The interface may then fail, leading to debonding of the fibre from matrix.

The fibre breakage leading to interfacial debonding is shown in Figure 6.3(b).

3) Transverse Matrix Cracking:

The interface failure causing debonding (as in fibre breaking and interfacial debonding in
above case) from the matrix may act like as a stress concentration site for the in-plane
transverse tensile stress. When this stress exceeds the limiting stress in matrix, it leads to
through thickness transverse crack in the matrix.

The through thickness transverse matrix cracking is shown in Figure 6.3(c).

4) Fibre Failure due to Matrix Cracking:

The matrix cracks formed (as in matrix cracking case above) may terminate at fibre interface
at low strains, while, at high strains, the stress at the crack tip may exceed the fracture stress
of the fibres, leading fibre failure.

The fibre failure due to matrix cracking is depicted in Figure 6.3(d).

5) Interfacial Shear Failure:

The fibre fracture or fibre failure due to matrix cracking may cause the matrix crack to
propagate as macro-crack under opening mode until it hits an interface. The shear stresses
may cause its propagation in sliding mode leading to a progressive failure of the interface.

The interfacial shear failure is shown in Figure 6.3(e).

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 Figure 6.2: Matrix-level damage mechanisms

Figure 6.3: Fibre-matrix coupled failure mechanisms

B. Macro-level Failure Mechanism:

The macro-level mechanisms are laminate level mechanisms. Here, we are addressing the
delamination. It is seen that the adjacent layers are bonded together by a thin layer of resin
between them. This interface layer transfers the displacement and force from one layer to
another layer. When this interface layer weakens or damages completely, it causes the
adjacent layers to separate. This mode of failure is called delamination. It is shown in
Figure 6.4.
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 Delamination reduces the strength and stiffness and thus limits the life of a structure.
Further, it causes stress concentration in load bearing plies and a local instability leading to
a further growth of delamination which results in a compressive failure of the laminate. In
these two cases delamination leads to a redistribution of structural load paths which, in
turn, precipitates structural failure. Hence, delamination indirectly affects the final failure
of the structure thus affecting its life. Therefore, delamination is known as the most
prevalent life limiting damage growth mode.

Figure 6.4: Macro-level damage mechanism

(Delamination)

Causes of Delamination:

Delamination can occur due to variety of reasons. The situations which can lead to
delamination initiation and its growth are explained below.

a) Manufacturing Defects

This is the most common reason for existence of delaminations in a laminate. Improper
laying of laminae, insufficient curing temperature; pressure and duration of curing, air
pockets and inclusions are some of the reasons which lead the manufacturing defects
causing delamination.

b) Loading Generating Transverse Stresses

The interface is weaker in transverse strength as compared to the layers. Hence, its failure
is dominated by the transverse stresses. The interface generally fails under tensile load
applied normal to it (see Figure 6.5(a)). Also, the delamination can take place due to
compressive stresses in its inplane direction causing buckling, which in turn, causes
delamination.

The inplane loads applied to angle ply laminate can cause delamination in it. This is
because the bending-stretching coupling can give rise to transverse stresses in the interface.
A schematic illustration of how axial tensile loading of angle ply laminates cause rotation
of the plies is shown in Figure 6.5(b). This rotation of the plies generates the interlaminar
shear stresses, which is one of the crucial factors in delamination.

Note: The Inter-laminar stresses are the stresses in the interface between two adjacent
layers. The existence to these stresses is shown in various references. Further, these

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 stresses can be very high locally depending upon various situations. We will also see the
existence of these stresses in a later chapter.

c) Laminate Geometry

The geometry of the laminate can lead to a three dimensional state of stress locally in the
interface leading to high interlaminar stresses. Some of the geometries of the laminate and
structures are shown below in which delamination damage will be a major damage mode.

i. Free Edge:
The free edges of the laminate have very high transverse normal and shear
stresses. It is shown that significant interlaminar stresses are induced in
regions near the laminate free edges. Interlaminar stresses near the free edges can
be controlled to an extent through the choice of materials, fibre orientations,
stacking sequence, layer thickness and the use of functionally graded materials.
However, when free edges are present, interlaminar stresses can be completely
eliminated through the use of a homogeneous material, locally.
The delamination shown in Figure 6.4, infact, is an edge delamination.

ii. Notch:
Notch in the laminates acts like an external crack giving rise to high three
dimensional stress state in the vicinity of the notch (See Figure 6.5(c)).

iii. Cut-out:
Cutouts are inevitable in structures. Cutouts are made to pass electric wires; fluid
passage as in the wings, doors and windows in the fuselage of an air vehicle. These
are, especially in aerospace vehicles, made also to reduce the weight of the
component. The cutout boundaries act like free edges leading to significant
transverse stresses. This is one of the most common site for onset of delamination.
A laminate with cutout is shown in Figure 6.5(d).

iv. Ply Drop/Termination:

The optimum design of composite structures in air vehicles is important. As a result
of the optimization (e.g. weight minimization) process or sometimes purely due to
geometric requirements/constraints, one or more of the plies have to be terminated
(also known as “ply drop”) inside the laminate. The region of ply termination acts
like a region of high stresses for neighbouring laminae which can be a reason for
delamination of the plies adjacent to the ply drop region. A ply drop in laminate is
shown in Figure 6.5(e).

v. Bonded Joints:
Sometimes laminates are bonded together using resin. Improper bonding leads to
weaker joints. When such weak joints are subjected to serve loading conditions
delamination can occur. A bonded joint in composite is shown in Figure 6.5(f).

vi. Bolted Joints:

Sometimes it is required to attach the composite structures to metallic structures. In
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 such situations, bolted joints are imperative. The free edges of the cutout made in
composite and additional load applied by tightening of the joint leads to a complex
local state of stress. When these composite structures are T or L sections carrying
additional loads, the situation is the worst. In such a situation delamination starts at
cutout edges or at the curved edges of the T or L sections. A L-bolted joint is shown
in Figure 6.5(g).

vii. Doublers:
These are needed due to geometric or functional requirements in the structures. In
this case a laminate is split into two or more set of laminae (or vice a versa). Thus,
at the bifurcation laminae (or where the laminae join together to form laminate)
give rise to high stresses. These locations are potential zones for delamination
initiation. Typical doublers are shown in Figure 6.5(h).

Suppression of Delamination:

Several possible design changes are suggested for delaying/suppressing the onset and
growth of delamination.

The primary cause of delamination is the low interlaminar fracture toughness. This is due
to brittle nature of most resins (epoxy) used as matrix material, which have low mode I
fracture toughness. The suggested models for improving this property are:

a. Adding thermoplastics, interleafing soft and hard layers, increasing length of cross-
links

b. Adding second phase materials to matrix like rubber; chopped fibre, fibrils, etc.

c. Through thickness reinforcement by 3D braiding or stitching

C) Coupled Micro-Macrolevel Failure Mechanisms:

The transverse matrix cracking of a lamina as shown in Figure 6.3(c) is an important

failure mechanism. The through thickness transverse crack may propagate to neighbouring
lamina causing it to break.

There can be another scenario that this crack terminates at the neighboring interface. This
crack front act as a stress concentration site for interface between the adjacent layer
causing it to weaken, thus initiating a delamination crack in the interface. This
delamination growth can lead to failure of the laminate. This is depicted in Figure 6.6(a).

A third scenario is also possible in which the transverse through thickness crack leads to
interface crack in adjacent layer causing partial delamination. This delamination may cause
a transverse crack in the next layer. Then this crack initiates a interfacial debonding of that
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 layer and so on causing the failure of laminate.

The coupling between the transverse cracking of lamina and delamination is depicted in
Figure 6.6(b).

Thus, the transverse cracking of lamina and delamination are strongly coupled.

Figure 6.5: Situations conducive for delamination

Figure 6.6: Coupled micro-macro damage mechanisms

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