Analysis of a Composite Double Cantilever Beam with Stitched Reinforcements Under Mixed Mode Loading : Formulation (I)

Several methods for improving the interlaminar strength and fracture toughness of composite materials are developed. Through-the-thickness stitching is considered one of the most common ways to prevent delamination. Stitching significantly increases the Mode I fracture toughness and moderately improves the Mode II fracture toughness. An analytical model has been developed for simulating the behavior of stitched double cantilever beam specimen under various loading conditions. For z-directional load and moment about the y-axis the numerical solutions are compared with the exact solutions. The derived formulation shows good accuracy when the relative error of displacement and rotation between numerical and exact solution were calculated. Thus we can use the present model with confidence in analyzing other problems involving stitched beams.