REFINED 2-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF CROSS-PLY LAMINATES WITH TRANSVERSE CRACKS BASED ON THE ASSUMED CRACK OPENING DEFORMATION

Abstract

A refined two-dimensional analysis method, taking into account the crack opening deformation, is proposed for the evaluation of stress distributions and the prediction of stiffness reduction in transverse cracked cross-ply laminates. The interlaminar stresses which play an important role in laminate failure are evaluated by using the concept of interface layer. A series expansion of the displacements is employed and the thermal residual stresses and Poisson effects in the laminate are taken into consideration in the formulation. The stress distributions and the stiffness reductions due to transverse cracks are compared with finite element results and experimental data, respectively. The proposed method represents well the characteristics of the stress distributions. The predicted laminate stiffness reductions are in excellent agreement with experimental data for various materials. The proposed analysis can be applied as a basis for the prediction of the induced delamination onset by using appropriate failure criteria.