2. Physics of translaminar fracture in composites

A composite laminate is generally made up of UD (figure 14 ) or woven (figure 16) plies stacked to achieve the required thickness. Take, for example, T700/M21 carbon/epoxy UD, one of the structural materials most widely used by Airbus in the manufacture of the A350. The reference T700 refers to a 7 μm diameter carbon fiber manufactured by Toray ^® and M21 to an epoxy resin reference manufactured by Hexcel ^®