Effects of z-pin areal density and layout on Mode I fracture in composite laminates: an FEA-based investigation
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
This study investigates the effect of z-pin through-thickness reinforcement on the Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of composite laminates. Initially, experimental test data were used to validate multiscale Finite Element Analysis (FEA) models developed to simulate Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) mechanical evaluation of z-pin reinforced composites. The validated models were then employed to explore the enhancement in interlaminar toughness associated with variations in z-pin diameter and areal density. Results indicate that z-pins substantially improve fracture toughness, with smaller diameter z-pins and higher areal densities yielding the greatest enhancements as to be expected. This improvement is attributed to a greater number of active z-pins bridging the crack front and an expanded interfacial surface area. Furthermore, the study finds that the z-pin layout pattern exerts minimal influence on interlaminar performance, with improvements primarily driven by optimizing pin size and density. These findings provide theoretical support for the optimization of z-pinning techniques and their application in advanced composite structures.
Date Issued
2025-11-22
Date Acceptance
2025-10-14
Citation
Applied Composite Materials, 2025, 33
ISSN
0929-189X
Publisher
Springer
Journal / Book Title
Applied Composite Materials
Volume
33
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2025 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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Subjects
Areal density
Double cantilever beam (DCB)
Finite element analysis (FEA)
Materials Science
Materials Science, Composites
Pin layout
Science & Technology
Technology
Through-thickness reinforcement
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
20
Date Publish Online
2025-11-22