Improvement of Mode I Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Stitched Glass/Epoxy Composites

This study examines the improvement of Interlaminar Fracture Toughness (IFT) of multilayered 3D glass/epoxy textile composites when through thickness reinforcement is introduced. Three stitching techniques have been examined: Modified Lockstitch (ISO-301), Single-yarn Orthogonal-stitch (ISO-205) and Double-yarn Orthogonal-stitch (ISO-205). It was found that the use of class ISO-205 manual-type stitched reinforcement significantly enhanced the Mode I-IFT, GIC measured using a Double Cantilever Beam technique. Furthermore, in every case, the use of class ISO-205 stitching and high stitch densities offer a significant improvement of 74.5 % on Mode I-IFT against interlaminar delamination.