Mode I and Mode II Delamination of Flax/Epoxy Composite Laminate

In recent decades, natural fibres are getting their attention as reinforcement in composite materials. This is because natural fibres are environmental friendly. However, delamination is commonly recognised as one of the earliest failures in composite laminates. The objective of the present work is to investigate mode I and mode II delamination behaviour of flax fabrics reinforced epoxy composite. The delamination characterisation was carried out using double cantilever beam (DCB) and three point end notched flexure (ENF) tests. The fracture toughness were calculated using experimental calibration method (ECM). Results showed that the average fracture toughness was 485 N/m and 962 N/m, respectively. Finally, through scanning electron micrographs, it was observed that the ply/ply debonding and fibre/matrix debonding were the major fracture mechanisms in DCB specimen. As for ENF specimen, shear fracture dominated the energy dissipation process