Failure mechanism of titanium-based carbonfibre/epoxy laminates under tension

Titanium-based carbon-fibre/epoxy laminates (TI-CF FMLs), are layered materials based on stacked arrangements of titanium alloy layers and carbon-fibre/epoxy laminated layers, having benefits over both constituent materials. In this study, the tensile properties of the TI-CF FMLs were investigated under quasi-static loading. A comprehensive experimental study was conducted for nine different types of the TI-CF FMLs (considering various metal sheet thicknesses, metal volume fractions and fibre orientations) as well as their associated constituent materials (i.e., Ti-6Al-4V and CF/E laminates). The stress-strain curves of the TI-CF FMLs, which characterized into three stages, were analyzed. Each stage of failure were explained in detail. In addition, the specific energy absorption of the TI-CF FMLs were evaluated in this study.