Evolution of ply cracks in multidirectional composite laminates Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • This paper treats evolution of ply cracks in multidirectional composite laminates subjected to a quasi-static tensile load in the longitudinal direction. Starting with pre-existing ply cracks in off-axis plies, the formation of additional cracks is analyzed by an energy-based approach. A critical laminate energy parameter associated with formation of these cracks is defined and is evaluated using experimental data for a reference cross-ply laminate. The modeling approach requires crack surface displacements, which are calculated by a three-dimensional finite element (3-D FE) analysis performed on a suitable representative volume of the given cracked laminate. The model predictions agree well with experimental data for [0 / ± θ4 / 01 / 2]s and [0 / 90 / ∓ 45]s laminates. A parametric study is conducted to evaluate effects of ply thickness and ply stacking sequence on damage evolution in [0m / 90n / ∓ θp]s laminates. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

published proceedings

  • International Journal of Solids and Structures

author list (cited authors)

  • Singh, C. V., & Talreja, R

citation count

  • 68

complete list of authors

  • Singh, Chandra Veer||Talreja, Ramesh

publication date

  • May 2010