Compressive fracture evolution of thick cross-ply laminated composites with different stacking sequences

This study reports the fracture evolution of thick cross-plied composites under static compression loading. The prepreg employed was TC-35 carbon fiber/EHM-63 epoxy, and the composite was laminated using a pressure rolling machine. Six types of symmetric stacking were adopted: [0_m/90_2m/0_m] _n (m = 40, 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 and n = 1, 2, 4, 8, 20, 40, respectively). All specimens contain a total of 160 layers, and the numbers of 0° and 90° layers are both 80. The nominal thickness specimen is 24 mm. For different pairs of m and n, the number of 0°/90° interfaces varies. To apply the compressive load, an end-supported, end-loaded fixture was used. The growth of cracks was monitored and recorded in real-time by picture and video cameras. The relationships among the stacking sequence, the support conditions, the resulting properties, the induced failure modes, and the fracture evolution are discussed.