Effect of stacking sequence and bundle waviness in quasi-isotropic NCF composites subjected to compression

Abstract

The current study is focused on the compressive strength of composite materials containing non-crimp fabric (NCF) reinforcement, and how ply stacking sequence and fibre waviness influence onset and growth of damage in such materials. Experiments reveal significant effects from stacking sequence, both on the compressive strength as such, and on the underlying failure mechanisms. The fibre waviness also has a strong influence on the strength. Fibre kinking is seen before ultimate failure for all configurations but some of them also show local delamination prior to kinking. A finite element simulation methodology is developed and used for the studied cases. It handles local variations of fibre orientations by corresponding re-orientation of stiffness matrices at element level. The simulations provide good predictions of intra- and inter-laminar failure considering both in-plane and out-of-plane fibre bundle waviness. The model is further used in a parametric study of the influence from bundle waviness on the compressive strength.