Impact and delamination failure of woven-fabric composites

An overview is presented of the fracture behaviour and failure mechanisms o f composite laminates containing woven fabrics in mode I and mode II delami nation and under impact loading. Potential advantages of using woven fabric s as opposed to cross-ply unidirectional prepreg tapes are specifically dis cussed from the viewpoint of the microstructure/property relationship. Corr elations are established between resistance to and tolerance of impact dama ge and the delamination resistance of composites. Salient differences are i dentified between composites made from different fibre configurations in te rms of the process of damage development, damage modes/states and residual performance after impact damage. The effects of fibre/matrix interface prop erties influenced by different silane coupling agents on interlaminar fract ure and the impact performance of woven-glass-fabric composites are evaluat ed. The implications of these findings are discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.