Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of glare laminates by single cantilever beam

GLARE laminates, also known as Glass Fiber Reinforced Aluminum Laminates, have emerged as critical materials for fuselage and wing skin applications due to their outstanding fatigue resistance and good damage tolerance. Among the various modes of failure in GLARE laminates, interfacial delamination plays a significant role in determining their overall performance. However, GLARE laminates suffer complicated failure mechanisms and have a complex multi-interface system. Clearly, it is crucial to accurately determine the feasibility and accuracy of the SCB (Single Cantilever Beam) method for GLARE laminates by combining finite element simulation with experiments. Meanwhile, a detailed investigation was conducted on the influence of fiber laying and the loading rate of GLARE laminates. The findings revealed that the SCB tests resulted in pure Mode I interlaminar fracture failure. Furthermore, it was observed that loading rates range of 1~5 mm/min achieves reasonable and effective Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness. Additionally, finite element simulation results demonstrated the absence of in-plane shear failure within the fiber layer, leading to the production of pure Mode I interlaminar fracture.