Out-of-plane tensile strength of CFRP laminates reinforced by thin-ply under different loading rates

Delamination in composite laminates is primarily caused by transverse tensile stress. However, experimental and numerical studies have consistently shown that hybrid composite laminates, reinforced with thin-plies, exhibit greater strength under static transverse tensile loads in comparison to reference conventional composite laminates. This study focuses on analyzing the behavior of composite laminates reinforced by thin-ply, subjected to high-rate and impact transverse tensile loading. A conventional composite, Texipreg HS 160 T700, and a thin-ply, NTPT-TP415, were selected for this investigation. Hybrid laminates were created by integrating 25% thin-plies throughout the laminate's thickness. Subsequently, unidirectionally stacked laminates were subjected to high-rate and impact transverse tensile loading. The experimental results showed a slight increase in the transverse tensile strength of the hybrid laminate compared to the reference conventional composite under both high-rate and impact-loading conditions. To delve into the microscale behavior of these configurations, a representative volume element was analyzed using numerical methods, providing valuable insights into the studied setups.