Designing tougher microstructures by 3D printing of continuous fibre-reinforced composites

The translaminar fracture toughness of composites is a crucial parameter for the damage tolerance of composite parts and the microstructure is known to affect this parameter. A finite element model was therefore developed that is capable of predicting the translaminar fracture toughness of a complex microstructure. This model revealed that interfaces between carbon and glass fibre composites can increase the translaminar fracture toughness. Compact tension tests on 3D printed samples confirmed this conclusion experimentally. These results open up new avenues for designing composite parts with improved damage tolerance by fibre-hybridisation.status: publishe