Fracture of thin-ply composites

The demand for carbon/epoxy laminated composites is continuously increasing due to their high specific modulus and strength. Among them, laminates made of particularly thin layers (from t=0.015 to 0.150 mm) and called thin-ply composites are gaining in interest for the larger design space they offer. Moreover, they have outstanding strength properties, thanks to a significant ply thickness effect reflected by a delayed onset of damage. However,...