Effect of stitching on plain and open-hole strength of CFRP laminates

Experimental and analytical investigation is conducted to explore the effects of stitching on plain (without hole) and open-hole compressive and tensile strength of uniweave T300/QY9512 laminates under different environmental conditions (20 °C/dry and wet, 150 °C/dry and wet). Strength performance of stitched composite laminates is also studied using finite element analysis (FEA) model and compared with the experimental results to validate the model. It is found that under similar environmental conditions, the open-hole compressive strength of stitched laminate is decreased and open-hole tensile strength increased as compared to the unstitched laminates. Predicted tensile and compressive strengths are found to be in a good agreement with the test results and the relative error in all cases is less than 15.