Fracture and strength of notched thick composites

An experimental investigation for the fracture and notch strength of thick laminates has been carried out to develop high quality composite notches for structural use. Thus, the multi-directional laminates are designed and compared to the baseline aluminum. The difference of notch strength caused by manufacturing techniques is also discussed. The notches of selected materials are evaluated by the static test and low-velocity impact test. Failure modes are also observed and assessed. Material design is evaluated by the finite element analysis and confirmed by experiments. The successful results are obtained for thick composite notches, which shows higher strength than aluminum notches.