Investigation of failure mechanisms in L-angle composite laminates

Abstract

Highly curved composites such as L-angle composite laminates, used at the junction between two perpendicular panels experience unfolding failure. These laminates are typically used in critical components such as aircraft wing spars, hence understanding of their failure mechanisms becomes crucial. Unfolding failure is typically associated with the interlaminar stresses, eventually leading to sudden delamination, in the curved sections when they are loaded under an opening bending moment. However, depending on the stacking sequences, failure mechanisms experienced in curved composite laminates, may have different causes. This study addresses the two prominent failure mechanisms occurring in L-shaped composite beams.