Experimental evaluation of splice-type crack arrester with a filler under mode-I type loading

To enhance the damage tolerance capability of foam core sandwich panels, a splice-type crack arrester with a filler was invented. The concept of this crack arrester is that a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is installed in a core–core splice in a tapered butt joint. A CFRP fabric prepreg was selected as the arrester material. This crack arrester was evaluated experimentally through a fracture toughness test under mode-I type loading. A quantitative evaluation indicated that a specimen with the splice-type crack arrester with a filler has a crack suppression effect 13-fold higher than that of a specimen without the crack arrester in a fracture toughness test under mode-I type loading. The failure morphology shows that the splice-type crack arrester with a filler at its edge completely suppressed interfacial crack propagation in the fracture toughness test under mode-I type loading.