What is “First Ply Failure” in a Unidirectionally Loaded Quasi-Isotropic Composite (and does it exist)?

This study presents experimental results of unidirectional tension tests on quasi-isotropic laminates to observe so called “first ply failure” (FPF). The modulus of the laminates was measured throughout the test to observe any ply degradation. Quasi-isotropic (QI) laminates were tested since this is the most common layup sequence of a laminate in industry and FPF, if it exists to any practical extent, should be observed. The authors are unaware of any claim that only bi-axial loads are needed to cause FPF, thus uniaxial testing was performed since this is much simpler than bi-axial testing. Laminates can be engineered to cause anomalies (“knees” or abrupt change in modulus) in a stress-strain curve (such as sandwiching multiple 90° plies between a couple of 0° plies) but such laminates should never be used in practice. The search for FPF was examined in simple 8 ply QI laminates by stopping tension tests at various levels post predicted FPF and examining the specimen for “ply failure” and ascertaining its effect (if any) on the modulus of the laminate. The ultimate strength values were found for some specimens. Results showed that for 8 ply QI laminates, no FPF of note was found and challenges the whole notion of FPF and thus “progressive failure”.