Delamination at Thick Ply Drops in Carbon and Glass Fiber Laminates Under Fatigue Loading

Delamination at ply drops in composites with thickness tapering has been a concern in applications of carbon fibers. This study explored the resistance to delamination under fatigue loading of carbon and glass fiber prepreg laminates with the same resin system, containing various ply drop geometries, and using thicker plies typical of wind turbine blades. Applied stress and strain levels to produce significant delamination at ply drops have been determined, and the experimental results correlated through finite element and analytical models. Carbon fiber laminates with ply drops, while performing adequately under static loads, delaminated in fatigue at low maximum strain levels except for the thinnest ply drops. The lower elastic modulus of the glass fiber laminates resulted in much higher strains to produce delamination for equivalent ply drop geometries. The results indicate that ply drops for carbon fibers should be much thinner than those commonly used for glass fibers in wind turbine blades.