Delamination Effect on Bending Behaviour in Carbon-Epoxy Composites

This paper presents the results of experimental and numerical studies on the bending behaviour of carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy composite containing delamination located at different positions along the laminate thickness. Experimental tests were conducted in three-point bending using specimens with and without delamination to evaluate their bending behaviour. Numerical simulations were also performed in order to evaluate the maximum load as a function of the defect position and its size. The numerical model includes two-dimensional solid elements of the ABAQUS software and a cohesive mixed mode damage model to simulate delamination propagation. The numerical and experimental results concerning the maximum load were found to be concordant. It was concluded that delaminations affect the bending behaviour of laminates mainly due to alterations in shear stress profiles.