Matrix crack initiation and progression in composite laminates subjected to bending and extension

An experimental investigation of matrix crack initiation and progression in glass/epoxy laminates of different stacking sequences is presented. The laminates have been loaded in extension and bending, and the degree of damage as function of the load has been recorded. The changes in certain elastic properties caused by the damage were also measured, and are compared to results from a previously developed approximate analytic model. An energy release rate resistance curve is adopted in an attempt to describe the initiation and progression of matrix cracks in the laminates. The amount of cracking is also viewed in relation to the strain transverse to the fibres in the ply under consideration, and the ply stresses at the onset of cracking are calculated. The different damage evolution criteria are compared to the experimental results, and their validity and reliability are discussed. By use of the ply strain transverse to the fibres as a critical parameter for damage evolution, the load-deformation curves of the tested laminates are simulated taking damage progression into account. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.