Enhancement of tensile strength of tapered laminates by utilizing thin-ply composites

Abstract

Tapered CFRP laminates formed by dropping off plies are extensively used on modern aircraft due to the special design requirement for certain components. Thin-ply composites have recently been proven to have good damage tolerance in experimental and numerical studies. The use of thin-ply composites in tapered laminates is expected to achieve a higher taper ratio and enhance the design flexibility, which has yet to be investigated. This paper studied the mechanical behavior of tapered laminates without belt plies with different taper ratios and ply thickness under the loading-unloading tensile test. The damage behavior of tested specimens was observed through microscope imaging after the unloading process. The experimental results indicate that tapered laminates utilizing thin-ply composites have excellent mechanical properties and damage-resistant capability. And it was found that the use of thin-ply composites in tapered laminates could allow for a wider range of taper ratios. This allows for more selectivity in the design methods of tapered composite structures and enables lightweight.