Structural Integrity of Composite Flexbeams

The structural integrity of composite tapered components is investigated. Several uncertainties within the research community are discussed. Finite element modeling and experimental evidence summarized from previous and present efforts are correlated to determine the location of the damage initiation, the interaction between the free edge and the taper discontinuities, the effect of realistic geometries, the extent and mode of damage growth, and the ability of simple physical models to explain the occurrence of the interlaminar stress state.