Identification of interlaminar fracture properties of a composite laminate using local full-field kinematic measurements and finite element simulations

The paper is devoted to the identification of interlaminar properties by analyzing three tests with different mode mixities on a unidirectional thermoset composite material. It is shown that by coupling digital image correlation with finite element simulations, it is possible to locally extract energy release rates whose standard uncertainty is at most equal to 50 J/m(2). This performance is achieved with a standard finite element code by optimizing the location of the crack tip, which is the key information needed to evaluate (linear elastic) fracture mechanics parameters of these materials. The level of stress intensity factors and the experimental mode mixity can be identified in all configurations with an acceptable uncertainty. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.