Experimental Investigation on the Failure Behavior of Single-Stiffened Composite Panels under Compressive Load. (1st March 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yu, Fei; Zhang, Ru; Chen, Xiangming; Deng, Fanchen; Wang, Zhe; Yuan, Fei; Cheng, Liping; Lin, Guowei; Li, Xinxiang
• Is Part Of: Journal of physics. Volume 2457(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-03-01
• Subjects: Physics -- Congresses; 530.5
• DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/2457/1/012001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1742-6588

Abstract

Abstract: Whilst the thin-walled composite structures have been widely used to build the primary components in aircraft, Low-Velocity Impact (LVI) can cause severe intra-laminar and inter-laminar damage in the composite material, reducing the mechanical performance of these components. This paper presents an experimental study on the compressive failure behavior of a Single Hat-Stiffener Panel (SHSP) with two typical flaws, i.e., impact-induced damage and skin/stiffener debonding. LVI tests were performed to introduce the damage around the radius edge of the stiffener and the center of the flat skin panel, respectively, while the skin/stiffener debonding was introduced to the SHSP by artificially embedding a PTFE film at the skin/stiffener interface during autoclave curing. The impact energy to cause Barely Visible Impact Damage (BVID) was determined to be 22 J for the thin SHSP configuration. Whilst the considerable damage area was detected by the ultrasonic scan for the thick SHSP at an energy level of 35 J, the impact-induced indentation was not visually detectable (<0.35 mm), indicating a high impact resistance of this thick SHSP. Compression After Impact (CAI) results showed a significant reduction (59.1%) in the ultimate compressive strength of the SHSP when the impact location was on the stiffener compared to the pristine specimen. However, this reduction is less significant (34.7%) when the damage resulted from the same impact energy in the flat skin panel. In this study, the presence of skin/stiffener debonding does not adversely influence the compressive strength of the thick SHSP, while this debonding flaw appears to cause a minor reduction in the compressive strength of the thin SHSP.