Damage and Failure Analysis of Co-Cured Fiber-Reinforced Composite Joints with Quasi-Isotropic Lay-Up

This research examines two types of co-cured joint configurations, the conventional single lap joint and the single nested overlap joint, which is produced by a minor alteration of the former configuration. A systematic comparison of damage initiation mechanisms, damage progression and failure modes for the co-cured composite joint specimens under quasi-static monotonic or step loading is carried out by using several evaluation methods such as acoustic emission, optical microscopy and X-ray radiography.