A novel tape termination method for tapering the ply end and removing the fibre discontinuity owing to a dropped ply in a tapered composite was demonstrated. The forces required for this process - referred to as scarfing - were experimentally investigated with respect to blade speed, scarfing ratio, tape thickness and width. Tensile tests were conducted on unidirectional laminate specimens with a scarfed ply at two different aspect ratios to examine the effect of scarfing ratio on the delamination behaviour of the specimens. The results showed that the ply scarfing ratio is a critical parameter controlling the cutting force and delamination behaviour in a tapered specimen, and upon reaching a certain threshold delamination can be completely suppressed. The method demonstrated has potential for implementation in commercial AFP machines, theoretically realising a more compact cutting mechanism, with the capability of preventing delamination in the ply drop regions.

提出了一种新颖的带子端接方法，该方法可以使层端部逐渐变细并消除由于在锥形复合材料中掉落层而导致的纤维不连续性。关于刮刀速度，刮擦率，带厚度和宽度，通过实验研究了此过程所需的力-称为刮擦-。在带有两个不同长宽比的带有毛刺层的单向层压板样品上进行了拉伸试验，以检验毛刺率对样品分层行为的影响。结果表明，层锥度比是控制锥形试样中切削力和分层行为的关键参数，并且在达到一定阈值时可以完全抑制分层。演示的方法具有在商用AFP机器中实施的潜力，