Delamination Suppression in Composites via Thermoplastic Interleaves

The paper presents the development of delamination resistant composite laminates using interleaving technology. A simple technique which incorporates discrete layers of thin thermoplastic films between wet glass/epoxy prepreg, followed by co-curing, is described. Two types of films having widely different properties were used in order to investigate the effects of film characteristics on composite interlaminar shear strength. Microscopic observations of the specimens after four-point shear testing showed that the failure mode was strongly affected by both the presence and the characteristics of the interleaves.