Linhai Huang , Jin Sun , Diantang Zhang , Xinchao Gao , Junpeng Li , Junhua Zhao
{"title":"Tailoring flexural strength and toughness of bio-inspired hybrid carbon/glass fiber laminates by controlling interlayer layup configurations","authors":"Linhai Huang , Jin Sun , Diantang Zhang , Xinchao Gao , Junpeng Li , Junhua Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.tws.2026.114635","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Interlayer layup configurations strongly dominate the mechanical properties of hybrid composite laminates. However, the influence of their structural parameters on the microscopic mechanical behavior and failure mechanisms remains unclear. To address this, we design a novel bio-inspired hybrid carbon/glass fiber laminate, where carbon fiber and glass fiber represent the hard and soft phases, respectively. The nonlinear mechanical behavior of 28 different layup types of hybrid carbon/glass fiber laminates is investigated through an integrated approach combining three-point bending tests and finite element analysis (FEA). Real-time monitoring of damage initiation and evolution is achieved using acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC), while a machine learning algorithm decodes AE features to classify damage modes. Corroborated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), this multi-technique methodology systematically reveals the progressive damage behavior and failure mechanisms of the hybrid composites. Parametric analysis further elucidates the synergistic influence of dispersion degree and hybrid ratio, identifying the [G<sub>3</sub>C<sub>3</sub>]<sub>2</sub> laminate as the optimal configuration at a dispersion degree of 0.27 and a hybrid ratio of 0.5. Compared to the [C]<sub>12</sub> laminate, this design achieves a 32.78% higher flexural strength and a 45.82% greater energy absorption, yielding a superior comprehensive performance index of 0.77. This study establishes a bio-inspired hybrid strategy that provides a foundational framework for designing thin-walled composite structures with tailorable mechanical performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49435,"journal":{"name":"Thin-Walled Structures","volume":"223 ","pages":"Article 114635"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3000,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Thin-Walled Structures","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0263823126001606","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/2/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, CIVIL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Interlayer layup configurations strongly dominate the mechanical properties of hybrid composite laminates. However, the influence of their structural parameters on the microscopic mechanical behavior and failure mechanisms remains unclear. To address this, we design a novel bio-inspired hybrid carbon/glass fiber laminate, where carbon fiber and glass fiber represent the hard and soft phases, respectively. The nonlinear mechanical behavior of 28 different layup types of hybrid carbon/glass fiber laminates is investigated through an integrated approach combining three-point bending tests and finite element analysis (FEA). Real-time monitoring of damage initiation and evolution is achieved using acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC), while a machine learning algorithm decodes AE features to classify damage modes. Corroborated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), this multi-technique methodology systematically reveals the progressive damage behavior and failure mechanisms of the hybrid composites. Parametric analysis further elucidates the synergistic influence of dispersion degree and hybrid ratio, identifying the [G3C3]2 laminate as the optimal configuration at a dispersion degree of 0.27 and a hybrid ratio of 0.5. Compared to the [C]12 laminate, this design achieves a 32.78% higher flexural strength and a 45.82% greater energy absorption, yielding a superior comprehensive performance index of 0.77. This study establishes a bio-inspired hybrid strategy that provides a foundational framework for designing thin-walled composite structures with tailorable mechanical performance.
期刊介绍:
Thin-walled structures comprises an important and growing proportion of engineering construction with areas of application becoming increasingly diverse, ranging from aircraft, bridges, ships and oil rigs to storage vessels, industrial buildings and warehouses.
Many factors, including cost and weight economy, new materials and processes and the growth of powerful methods of analysis have contributed to this growth, and led to the need for a journal which concentrates specifically on structures in which problems arise due to the thinness of the walls. This field includes cold– formed sections, plate and shell structures, reinforced plastics structures and aluminium structures, and is of importance in many branches of engineering.
The primary criterion for consideration of papers in Thin–Walled Structures is that they must be concerned with thin–walled structures or the basic problems inherent in thin–walled structures. Provided this criterion is satisfied no restriction is placed on the type of construction, material or field of application. Papers on theory, experiment, design, etc., are published and it is expected that many papers will contain aspects of all three.