Abstract: Experimental investigation is conducted to understand the compression strength and failure mechanisms of stitched laminates and unstitched laminates. A finite element method is adopted to calculate the effects of stitch parameters on the compressive properties of the stitched. Results show that the critical damage event in the stitched laminates is kink band formation, and that the delamination is suppressed. The stitching parameters have effects on the are compression strength. The results determined by this method are correlated well with the test results.

Key words: stitched laminate, compression strength, finite element method, delamination