ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE), Louisiana, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, 29 Ekim - 02 Kasım 2023
Increased interlaminar stresses in ply drop-off regions cause delamination and reduce the strength of the composite parts where a high number of plies are terminated in a short distance. A variable taper angle design is proposed and investigated in this study to postpone delamination in highly tapered laminated composites. The proposed design allows a smoother transition in tapered regions and reduces stress concentrations which are responsible for delamination. Different parametric studies are performed with 2D finite element models in ABAQUS to investigate the dependency of the onset loads of delamination and locations on taper angles. Cohesive elements are utilized for predicting damage in the interface and delamination growth. A parametric study with a single drop-off configuration showed that thin-section delamination is the main failure mode in highly tapered laminates. The study performed with variable taper angle designs showed that more than 55% improvement in the delamination initiation load in the thin-section compared to the constant taper angle design can be achieved with the proposed design.