Interleaving in Composites for High-Performance Structural Applications
Sarath Sasidharan, Anoop Anand
Abstract
Fiber-reinforced polymer composites find extensive applications ranging from sporting goods to aircraft components. Nonetheless, the weak interlaminar properties of laminated composites impose challenges in the design of primary load-bearing structures. The incorporation of additives (e.g., particles, films, and fibers) can overcome these limitations, offering additional functionalities to composites. Interleaving in composites generally refers to the incorporation of materials at the interface between two fiber plies so as to improve various properties. Being a simple technique to integrate in the production line, interleaving is recognized as an industrially significant and commercially viable method of modifying laminated composites. In this Review, an effort to assess state-of-the-art research on interleaving is attempted. Methods, applications, and the influence of interleaves on various properties of composites are also discussed. Data from the most recent research works on interleaved composites are compiled in an attempt to aid and encourage further developments among industries and academia.