Quality assessment of curved composite components in peel joint structures

In this article, curved composite structures are investigated with respect to their lay-up quality. The quality of the curved structural component is studied by evaluation of the delamination strength of single-L peel joint structures under bending deformation, which cause failure in the L-piece. Two major types of defect produced during manufacture were identified. Experimental testing showed strength differences of order −25 to +15% compared to specimens without defects. A progressive damage model including fault details was able to predict the spread of strengths observed experimentally.