Brief Summary of the Methods

Classical Lamination Theory (CLT) can be used to analyses composite properties of laminates in both on-axis model
(a composite material where the principal material axes are aligned with the coordinate system) and off-axis model
(where the material axes is not aligned with coordinate system). The different between on-axis and off axis model
can be seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 The basic different between On-Axis and Off-Axis

Hidde at al. [1] modelled on-axis laminates of Aramid Reinforced ALuminum Laminates (ARALL) properties used
CLT. Arall laminates can be seen in fig. 2. Moreover, Kawai et al. [2] used CLT to modelled off-axis laminates of Glass
Laminate Aluminum Reinforced Epoxy (GLARE). In both of works, a close approximation with experimental works
of stress-strain curves was obtained.

Fig. 2 Arall laminate [1]

ARALL and GLARE are the hybrid laminates that consists of fiber layers and metal layers. The major different between
fiber laminates and hybrid laminates is about the shape of stress-strain curve during tensile loading. In hybrid
laminates, bilinear stress-strain curve exhibits due to the metal layer. when metal layer reach it yield point, the
stiffness decrease. Stress-strain curve model of hybrid laminates can be seen in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 Uniaxial stress-strain curve of materials [3]

In elastic region, where the stress-strain laminates shown straight line and before metal part start to reach yielding
points, the rule of mixture of the laminates from CLT calculation can be used accurately as shown in the Eqs. 1-3.

𝐸𝑙𝑎𝑚 = 𝑀𝑉𝐹. 𝐸𝑚𝑒𝑡 + (1 − 𝑀𝑉𝐹). 𝐸𝐹𝑅𝑃 (1)

𝐸𝐹𝑅𝑃
𝜎𝑦,𝑙𝑎𝑚 = [𝑀𝑉𝐹 + (1 − 𝑀𝑉𝐹) ] 𝜎𝑦.𝑚𝑒𝑡 (2)
𝐸𝑚𝑒𝑡
𝜎𝑢𝑙𝑡,𝑙𝑎𝑚 = 𝑀𝑉𝐹. 𝜎𝑢𝑙𝑡,𝑚𝑒𝑡 + (1 − 𝑀𝑉𝐹). 𝜎𝑢𝑙𝑡,𝐹𝑅𝑃 (3)

The background of these 3 equations can be seen in the appendix of the summary sheet.

FMLs Joint

FMLs sheet can be jointed using fastened joint. Fastened joint is a non-permanent joint that can be disassembled.
Although fastened joint is easier and inexpensive, fastened joint are a source of weakness and compliance compared
to permanent joint. One of the types of permanent joint in composite laminates is single lap joint using a pin-loaded
hole. Slagter [4] investigate the static strength of a hybrid laminates that jointed using a rivet in a single-lap joint as
shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 Single lap joint in FML [4]

During tensile test of rivet joint fiber laminates, bilinear curve is shown in stress-strain curve. This result is similar to
metal layer. The bilinear exhibit in fiber layers because of the metal yielding from the rivet. Bearing in composite
joint was evaluated to determine the joint performance. General Eq. 4 can be used to evaluate the bearing strength
(Fig. 5), as follow.

𝑃𝑏
𝜎𝑏 = (4)
𝐴𝑏

𝜎𝑏 = 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ, 𝑃𝑏 = 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑, 𝐴𝑏 = 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎

Fig. 5 Bearing strength

Slagter [4] investigated the displacement analysis of bearing in tensile loading. The slope of the bearing or bearing
stiffness (K) is proportional with young’s modulus of the material. By eliminate rotation and considering only uniform
translation of the rivet pin, the relation can be write as:
𝑃
𝐾= (5)
𝑣𝑡

Where 𝑣 is the deflection of the rivet pin, 𝑃 is load, and t is material thickness.
Effect of Strain Hardening

In FMLs, untreated FMLs can increase residual strength up to 20% (Fig. 5) compared to treated FMLs (strain
hardening). This because reducing interfacial adhesion promoted fiber/matrix splitting and increased fiber pull-out
length, which delayed crack growth in the composite layer. On the other hand, laminates containing composite layer
with higher level of fiber/matrix adhesion was showed a planar fracture surface (Fig. 6), indicating rapid crack
growth through the composite layer. Hence, the use of untreated fiber to reduce the fiber/matrix bond strength of
the composite layer can increase the residual strength of FMLs [5].

Fig. 6 Planar surface (left) and FMLs residual strength (right) [5]

Blunt and sharp notch

A notch in engineering refers to a defect in a planar material whereby stress is concentrated. Notch cause decrease
of material strength. There are two types of notch, blunt and sharp notch. Sharp notch causes larger strength
decrease compared to blunt notch. Fig. 7 illustrate the notch in composite laminates.

Fig. 7 Blunt and sharp notch parameter [6]

While the height (b) of the ellipse and the notch tip radius (r) decrease to zero, the notch turns into an infinitely
sharp notch. The sharp notch causes larger strength decrease compared to blunt notch because of the stress
concentration in crack edge is higher.

Since notch in a structure are unavoidable, the disadvantages of notches are needed to determine to predict the
damage of the structures. The stress concentration when the notch is occurred can be described with stress
concentration factor or notch concentration factor (𝐾𝑡 ). It defined as the ratio between maximum stress at the notch
root and the average stress on the net section. The Fig. 8 illustrate the simple notch calculation.
𝜎𝑦
𝐾𝑡 = (6)
𝜎∞
Where 𝜎𝑦 is the maximum stress at the notch apex, 𝜎 ∞ is the nominal stress far from the notch section. In simple
case, 𝜎𝑛𝑜𝑚 can be calculated as (circular hole notch):
𝐹
𝜎 ∞ = (𝑤−𝑑)𝑡 (7)

Fig. 8 Simple schematic of circular hole notch

Where F is applied force, w is width, d is hole diameter, and t is thickness.

Whitney and Nuismer (WN) model

The WN model are based on the hole size effect on notched strength in composite laminates. The stress along the
x-axis (𝜎𝑦 ) in infinite isotropic plate that containing a circular hole with radius (R) is given by:

𝜎𝑦 1 𝑅 2 3 𝑅 4
= 1+ ( ) + ( ) (8)
𝜎∞ 2 𝑥 2 𝑥

𝜎𝑦
Where 𝜎 ∞ is the uniformly applied stress parallel to y-axis at infinity [7]. The function of and (x-R) can be seen in
𝜎∞
Fig. 9.

Fig. 9 Normal stress distribution for a circular hole in an infinite isotropic plate [8]

Stress Criteria in WN model (Point-stress criterion)

In this model, point-stress criterion is used with circular hole. It is assumed that failure occurs when the stress, 𝜎𝑦 ,
over some distance, 𝑑0 , is equal to or greater than the strength of the unnotched laminate (𝜎0 ) as follow:

𝜎0 = 𝜎𝑦 (𝑥, 0)|𝑥=𝑅+𝑑0 (9)

The criteria are illustrated in Fig. 10.

 Fig. 10 Point-stress criterion containing circular hole [8]

Notch Root

Based on the research conducted by de Vries [6], The strain at failure directly next to the notch root (Fig. 9) and this
supports the observations within the fracture mechanism that delamination occurs at the notch root before failure.

At a certain load, the metal layer at the notch root became plastic and the strain started to gradually increase more.
Increasing the load further resulted in an increase of the plastic zone size in the net section from the notch root
towards the specimen boundary. The hole net section was yielding when the strain at the notch root reached the
ultimate strain of the Aramid fibers. Approximately at this moment, a strong increase of the strain at the notch root
was observed. This is expected to be due to local fiber breakage, although the specimen did not cause immediate
failure.

Fig. 11 Notch root schematic [9]

R-curve

The R-curve is supposed to be a material characteristic, which is independent of the initial crack length. The R-curve
describes the crack growth resistance (R) as a function of the stable crack extension under an increasing load [10].

General postulate from de Vries mentioned that to obtain fracture, the energy available for crack growth or energy
release rate (G) must be larger than the crack resistance (R) of the material.

The relation between G and R with young’s modulus can be seen in Eqs. (10-11) and the Fig. 12 as follows:
𝐾𝐺 2
𝐺= (10)
𝐸

𝐾𝑅 2
𝑅= (11)
𝐸
Where 𝐾𝐺 and 𝐾𝑅 are crack driving force and crack growth resistance, respectively.

Fig. 12 Schematic R-curve vs crack length with 𝐾𝐺 , 𝐾R curves for thin center cracked plates [6]

De Vries also included in his study about the residual strength, where the residual strength of a material is defined
as the remaining static strength of the material in the presence of any damage that can occur during the service life
of an aircraft.

References

[1] Hidde JS, Herakovich CT. Inelastic Response of Hybrid Composite Laminates. J Compos Mater
2017;242:241–82. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55197-5_8.

[2] Kawai M, Morishita M, Tomura S, Takumida K. Inelastic behavior and strength of fiber-metal hybrid
composite: Glare. Int J Mech Sci 2002;40:183–98. doi:10.1016/s0020-7403(97)00048-9.

[3] De Vries TJ, Vlot A, Hashagen F. Delamination behavior of spliced Fiber Metal Laminates. Part 1.
Experimental results. Compos Struct 1999;46:131–45. doi:10.1016/S0263-8223(99)00049-5.

[4] Slagter WJ. Static Strength of Riveted Joints in Fibre Metal Laminates. Diss Delft Univ Technol 1994.

[5] Lawcock GD, Ye L, Mai YW, Sun CT. Effects of Fiber/Matrix Adhesion on Carbon-Fibre-Reinforced Metal
Laminates - I. Residual Strength. Compos Sci Technol 1997;57:1609–19. doi:10.1016/s0266-
3538(97)00108-5.

[6] de Vries TJ. Blunt and sharp notch behaviour of Glare laminates. Diss Delft Univ Technol 2001.
doi:10.1039/c0cp00396d.

[7] Whitney JM, Nuismer RJ. Stress Fracture Criteria for Laminated Composites Containing Stress
Concentrations. J Compos Mater 1974.

[8] Awerbuch J, Madhukar MS. Notched Strength of Composite Laminates: Predictions and Experiments—A
Review. vol. 4. 1985. doi:10.1177/073168448500400102.

[9] Milella PP. Fatigue and corrosion in metals. 2013. doi:10.1007/978-88-470-2336-9.

[10] Vermeeren CAJR. The Residual Strength of Fibre Metal laminates. Diss Delft Univ Technol 1995.

[11] Van Rijn JCFN. The use of composite fracture models to describe the blunt notch behaviour of metal
laminates. Tech Rep NLR TP 92061 U 1992.
Ref [5]
Fibers were treated by an electrochemical oxidation procedure which optimizes the adhesion to
epoxy matrices, and then the fiber surface was coated with a thin layer of epoxy (0.4% by mass)
[5].
Sample [9]

Shear modulus
Fig. 6 show the geometry of the strip with a pin-loaded hole. Assumption, the loading direction is in tension. This
suppose that the force to produce a given deflection v depends on Ef, V, D, t, W, e, and v, so that:

P=F’ (Ef, V, D, t, W, e, v) (6)

Where F’ is an unknown function, Ef, is young’s modulus of the plate (MPa), V shear force (N), D diameter of pin or
rivet (mm), t thickness of rivet (mm), W width of the plate (mm), e edge distance (mm), and v is deflection of the
rivet (mm).

Fig. 13 Geometric of a single pin-loaded joint[4]

By combining Eqs. (5) and (6) and derived F’ for constant value of V, we can rewrite:
𝑃
= 𝑭′′(𝐸𝑓 , 𝐷, 𝑒, 𝑊) = 𝐾 (7)
𝑣𝑡

Where 𝑭′′ is another unknown function, Eq. 7 can be written in the following non-dimensional form:
𝐾
(8)
𝐸𝑓 𝛿 𝐷𝜔 𝑒 𝜉 𝑊 𝜓

Eq. (8) is valid only if

𝛿=1
{−2𝛿 + 𝜔 + 𝜉 + 𝜓 = −2 (9)
−2𝛿 = −2
Hence, we can rewrite Eq. (8)
𝑒 𝑒
𝐾 = 𝐸𝑓 𝑭 ( , ) (10)
𝑊 𝐷

𝑒 𝑒
Here we can proof that K is proportional to Ef. The function of 𝑭 ( , ) determined by a finite element analysis.
𝑊 𝐷

When an infinite anisotropic plate containing a straight crack with the length is 2c is subjected to
uniform tensile stress, 𝜎 ∞ , the normal stress along the x-axis, 𝜎𝑦 , can be expressed as:

𝑐
𝜎𝑦 = 𝜎 ∞ √
2 (𝑥 − 𝑐)
Blunt notch model calculated based on critical length parameter [11]

To evaluate blunt notch model for composite, the length parameter was used based on Whitney and Nuismer model,
Karlak model, Pipes, Wetherhold, and Gillespia (PWG) model, and Mar and Lin model [11]. The relationship between
characteristic length (𝑑0 ), and the hole radius can be assumed as follows:
𝑅 𝑚
( )
𝑅0
𝑑0 = (12)
𝐶

Where 𝑅 is circular notch radius, 𝑅0 is a reference notch radius, m is the exponential parameter (0 or 1), C is the
notch sensitivity factor. The schematic figure to determine 𝑑0 and R can be seen in Fig. 10.
 Fig. 14 Point-stress criterion [11]
𝜎𝑁 2
= (13)
𝜎0 2+𝜆2 +3𝜆4 −(𝐾𝑇∞ −3)(5𝜆6 −7𝜆8 )

Where 𝜎𝑁 is notched laminate or material strength, 𝜎0 is unnotched laminate, 𝐾𝑇∞ is stress concentration factor, and
𝜆 can be obtained from:

𝜆 = (1 + 𝑅𝑚−1 𝑅0−𝑚 𝐶 −1 )−1 (14)

Fig. 15 Notch sensitivity factor (C) on strength ratio [11]