This paper systematically studies the effect of wrinkle defects—commonly formed during the manufacturing of large wind turbine blades—on the tensile failure behavior of composite laminates. Through theoretical analysis
finite element simulation
and experimental tests
the stress distribution and failure modes of unidirectional and biaxial laminates under different wrinkle angles are investigated. Results indicate that out-of-plane wrinkles lead to local fiber deflection
increase interlaminar stress
and cause interlaminar failure. The residual strength is mainly governed by the interlaminar properties of the composite. Due to the limitation of interlaminar performance
wrinkles have a more noticeable effect on the tensile strength of unidirectional laminates. Therefore
in the structural design of blades
the influence of wrinkles should be considered
and different wrinkle tolerance criteria should be established for different types of laminates. The comparison between theoretical and experimental results shows that the errors meet engineering requirements. In particular
for laminates with a large wrinkle angle (=50°)
the error in tensile strength is only 3.07%
confirming that the proposed method is applicable in engineering practice.
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