Elastic Properties and Failure Behavior of Tiled Laminate Composites

Abstract

This paper focuses on the elastic properties and the failure behavior of tiled laminate composites. Such laminates, in which the plies are not parallel to the outer surfaces are found in InfraCore® based GFRP panels. This technology is developed for the construction of a robust FRP panel that is applicable for highly loaded structures, e.g. for bridges or lock gates. In general, the drawback in traditional FRP sandwich structures has always been debonding of skin and core. Such a debonding problem may occur after impact, followed by fatigue loading. Through the use of the InfraCore® technology, debonding is no longer possible, as multiple overlapping Z-shaped and two-flanged web structures are alternated with polyurethane foam cores acting as non-structural permanent formwork. Consequently, the fibers in the upper and lower skins as well as in the vertical webs run in all directions, especially in the connection between them, rendering a resin-dominated crack propagation impossible. As a result of the integration of core and skin reinforcement, a skin material is created in which the reinforcement is not parallel to the outer surfaces, but at a small angle. Such stacking is called a tiled laminate (TL), as opposed to plane-parallel (PP) and is not fully described by the classic laminate theory. In the paper, finite element analysis is used to assess the effect of the ply angle and the interlaminar properties on the assessment of stiffness and failure behavior of a tiled laminate.