Assessment of interlaminar stress distribution in CFRP laminates containing transverse crack using finite element model

Composite laminates have various failure modes mainly because of the heterogeneity of the material and the failure modes are influenced by the mechanical properties of the reinforcement and matrix. In particular, interlaminar delamination is the most severe failure mode which occurs in the matrix area in the interlamina. But, the mechanism of delamination cannot be understood by the assumption that the laminates are homogeneous. We propose a new finite element model which can represent the behaviour of the lamina and the interlamina independently. Consequently, the good analysis results expected by experimental results were obtained. Moreover, we estimate the effect of thermoplastic film which is inserted in the interlamina to prevent delamination.