Effect of a Resin Interlayer on Composites with Free Edges
Abstract
The interlaminar stress problem in laminated composites requires precise definition to predict failure reliably as well as to characterize laminates. An assessment and review of the problem has been reported by Salamon [1]. The majority of investigations treat an idealized laminate model composed of anisotropic, homogeneous sheets bonded together along a planar surface; the interface between sheets has no thickness. Numerical solutions do not accurately capture the mechanical behavior of the laminate in regions of apparent singularities; that is, boundary or interface continuity conditions are not satisfied. Furthermore, magnitudes of the predicted stresses are sensitive to the order of the approximation and vary from one solution to another. One exception is a work by Wang and Choi [2] which, for angle-ply laminates, defines the singularity and takes it into account using a numerical collocation technique.