Analysis of progressive fiber debonding in elastic laminates

The evolution of fiber debonding, and sliding, in fibrous laminates is modeled by a coupled micro/macro-mechanical analysis scheme. The laminates under consideration have a symmetric layup, and are subjected to mechanical loads. The individual plies are elastic, have a unidirectional reinforcement, and can suffer local damage at the fiber/matrix interface when the resolved normal and shear stresses exceed their ultimate magnitudes. The local fields in the plies are assumed to be periodic, and are approximated by the finite element method for overall loads and local resolved stresses that are in excess of the interface strength. Local effects in the individual plies are scaled up to the laminate analysis through stress transformation factors, which are a function of the elastic properties of the plies and their stacking configuration. The proposed analysis was implemented for a periodic array model of the laminas, and for in-plane loading of the laminate. The model predictions for a unidirectional steel/epoxy system subjected to transverse loading compare remarkably well with experimental measurements. This result, and several other examples given for axial and off-axis loading of SiC/CAS laminates, illustrate the model capabilities in predicting the overall strains in the presence of simultaneous, progressive debonding in the individual plies. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.