Delamination Behavior of Quasi-Isotropic Graphite Epoxy Laminates Subjected to Tension and Torsion Loads

Sixteen and thirty-two ply quasi-isotropic laminates fabricated from AS4/3501-6 were subjected to pure tension, pure torsion, simultaneous tension and torsion, and torsion fatigue. Layups tested were [45n/-45n/0n/90n], with n=2 or 4. A torsion damage pattern consisting of a localized matrix crack and delaminations was characterized, and the measured torsional stiffnesses were compared with calculated values. It was found that a combination of tension and torsion led to failure at smaller loads than either type of deformation acting alone would have. Further work may determine the exact form of the failure criterion.