Abstract We review the literature describing use of interleaves to increase interlaminar fracture toughness in fibre-reinforced polymer composites and hence improve damage tolerance. From an analysis data provided from microfibre nanofibre interleaves, we show that performance these widely researched systems is clearly differentiated when plotted against mean coverage interleaf. Using a simple ...

The effective adhesive properties of heterogeneous thin films are characterized through a combined experimental and theoretical investigation. By bridging scales, we show how variations of elastic or adhesive properties at the microscale can significantly affect the effective peeling behavior of the adhesive at the macroscale. Our study reveals three elementary mechanisms in heterogeneous syste...

Natural structural materials with intricate hierarchical architectures over several length scales exhibit excellent combinations of strength and toughness. Here we report the mechanical response of a crossed-lamellar structure in Cymbiola nobilis shell via stepwise compression tests, focusing on toughening mechanisms. At the lower loads microcracking is developed in the stacked direction, and c...