Hybrid structures for concentrated load transmission in fibre composites: Initial experiments

Abstract

This study can be considered as an element of advanced hybrid structural concepts in composite aircraft design, supporting the development of hybrid titanium composite laminates (HTCL) and its transition region for local-reinforced / fastening-optimised CFRP structures. Focus is on similarities with existing FML, model adaptation and experimental validation. Investigations on fatigue crack initiation and propagation in HTCL show promising intermediate results; Classical laminate theory (CLT) is a suitable method for residual stress calculation as initial experiments show a good correlation with the CLT results. A crack bridging mechanism seems to occur, although the delamination area is not resolvable with the used technique of Xray computer tomography. The visualisation of delamination and in-situ techniques for measurement of crack lengths are special points of attention. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.