Edge Delamination and Residual Properties of Drilled Carbon Fiber Composites with and without Short-Aramid-Fiber Interleaf

Edge delamination is frequently observed in carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates after machining, due to the low fracture toughness of the resin interfaces between carbon fiber plies. In this study, the effects of incorporating tough aramid fibers into the brittle CFRP system are quantified by measuring the residual properties of bolted CFRP. By adding short-aramid-fiber interleaves in CFRP laminates, the residual tensile strength have been substantially increased by 14 % for twill-weave laminates and 45 % for unidirectional laminates respectively. Moreover, tensile failure was observed as the major mode of toughened laminates, in contrast to shear failure of plain laminates. The qualitative FEM results agreed well with the experimental results that edge delamination would cause relatively higher shear stress and therefore alter the failure mode from tensile failure to shear failure.