Characterizing Delamination Resistance of Toughened Resin Composites

The delamination resistance of toughened resin composites was studied. Both the edge delamination test (EDT) and the double-cantilever-beam (DCB) test provided a useful ranking of improvements in delamination resistance between brittle and tough resin composites. Several layups were designed for the edge delamination test to cover a wide range of mixed-mode conditions. The DCB and the various layups of the EDT were then used to characterize the interlaminar fracture behavior of brittle and toughened resin composites subjected to both static and cyclic loading.