Abstract:Fiber metal laminates (FMLs) are widely used in the industrial field, but they are prone to delamination damage during actual service, among which mode I (opening mode) and mode II (sliding mode) fractures are the two most common forms. Based on the classical laminated plate theory, the bending-torsion coupling deformation of fiber metal laminates can be induced under bending load by regulating the lay-up sequence and lay-up angle. Considering that the propagation of mode I and mode II delamination is mainly driven by bending load, and the torsional deformation accompanied by the bending process may significantly affect its fracture behavior, this study takes fiber metal laminates as the research object, designs and fabricates two groups of specimens that can exhibit bending-torsion coupling deformation under mode I and mode II delamination states, conducts mode I and mode II delamination propagation tests, and calculates the fracture toughness of the specimens simultaneously. In addition, based on finite element software, combined with the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT), a finite element model of the corresponding specimens is established for numerical simulation analysis. The results show that the fiber metal laminates with bending-torsion coupling characteristics have better resistance to mode I and mode II delamination propagation than the control group without coupling characteristics; the established finite element model can accurately simulate the load-displacement response of the specimens and has good applicability.