Effect of Z-pin inclined angle on the impact damage suppression effectiveness for cross-ply composite laminates

Binbin Liao, Jianwu Zhou, Jinyang Zheng, Ran Tao, Li Xi*, Tian Zhao, Ying Li, Daining Fang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Z-pins can enhance through-thickness direction of composite laminates effectively by reducing the delamination damage area. In this paper, the low velocity impact behaviors of [02/902]4S cross-ply composite laminates by inserting Z-pins with two different angle 0° and ±45° along the thickness direction were compared. T300 carbon fiber Z-pins were used as the reinforcements for Z-pinned laminates impacted by 5 J, 10 J, 20 J and 30 J impact energies. The mechanical responses including the impact force-time/central displacement curves were recorded during the tests. Afterwards, ultrasonic C-scanner, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT) techniques were used to characterize the impact damage. Experimental results demonstrated that the Z-pins were unable to delay the delamination initiation, which led to basically consistent delamination initiation threshold regardless of Z-pin inclined angle. Based on the mechanical characteristics, 0° Z-pinning could improve the resistance to the onset of penetration by comparing to the ±45° Z-pinning. In addition, the effectiveness of 0° Z-pinning on suppression of delamination damage and internal defects was better than the ±45° Z-pinning at high impact energy.

Original languageEnglish
Article number106264
JournalComposites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing
Volume142
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2021

Keywords

  • Composite laminates
  • Delamination damage projected area
  • Internal defects
  • Z-pin inclined angle

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Liao, B., Zhou, J., Zheng, J., Tao, R., Xi, L., Zhao, T., Li, Y., & Fang, D. (2021). Effect of Z-pin inclined angle on the impact damage suppression effectiveness for cross-ply composite laminates. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 142, Article 106264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2020.106264