• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.1
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• pp.47-56
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• 2023

Any pre-existed delamination defect present during manufacturing or induce during service loading conditions in the wingskin adherend invariably shows a greater loss of structural integrity of the spar wingskin joint (SWJ). In the present study, inter-laminar delamination propagation at the critical location of the SWJ has been carried out using contact and multi-point constraint finite elements available with commercial FE software (ANSYS APDL). Strain energy release rates (SERR) based on virtual crack closure technique have been computed for evaluation of the opening (Mode-I), sliding (Mode-II) and cross sliding (Mode-III) modes of delamination by sequential release of multi point constraint elements. The variations of different modes of SERR are observed to be significant by considering varied delamination lengths, material properties of adherends and radius of curvature of the SWJ panel. The SERR rates are seen to be much different at the two pre-embedded delamination ends. This shows dissimilar delamination propagation rates. The maximum is seen to occur in the delamination front in the unstiffened region of the wingskin. The curvature geometry and material anisotropy of SWJ adherends significantly influences the SERR values. Increase in the SERR values are observed with decrease in the radius of curvature of wingskin panel, keeping its width unchanged. SWJs made with flat FRP composite adherends have superior resistance to delamination damage propagation than curved composite laminated SWJ panels. SWJ made with Boron/Epoxy (B/E) material shows greater resistance to the delamination propagation.

• Composites Research
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.322-327
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• 2022

Composite lap joints have been extensively used due to their excellent properties and the demand for light structures. However, due to the weak mechanical properties in the thickness direction, the lap joint is easily fractured. various reinforcement methods that delay fracture by dispersing stress concentration have been applied to overcome this problem, such as z-pinning and conventional stitching. The Z-pinning is reinforcement method by inserting metal or carbon pin in the thickness direction of prepreg, and the conventional stitching process is a method of reinforcing the mechanical properties in the thickness direction by intersecting the upper and lower fibers on the preform. I-fiber stitching method is a promising technology that combines the advantages of both z-pinning and the conventional stitching. In this paper, the static and fatigue strengths of the single-lap joints reinforced by the I-fiber stitching process were evaluated. The single-lap joints were fabricated by a co-curing method using an autoclave vacuum bag process and I-fiber reinforcing effects were evaluated according to adherend thickness and stitching angle. From the experiments, the thinner the composite joint specimen, the higher the I-fiber reinforcement effect, and Ifiber stitched single lap joints showed a 52% improvement in failure strength and 118% improvement in fatigue strength.

• Composites Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.55-60
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• 2020

A study on the heating behavior and adhesion property of structural epoxy adhesive through induction heating have been conducted. An adhesive for induction heating was manufactured through mixing with nano and micro sized Fe₃O₄. From the results, it was observed that induction heating is less affected by adherend (GFRP) thickness than oven heating. The heating rate of Fe₃O₄ embedded epoxy adhesive using induction heating much higher than that of oven curing process and it is more appreciable when the contents of Fe₃O₄ increased. Furthermore, adhesion strength increased with increase of Fe₃O₄ particle contents.