A Methodology for Estimating the Delamination Growth Rate in Layered Composites under Tensile Cyclic Loading

The main features of physical modeling of the delamination growth rate in layered composites in tensile loading are considered. To estimate this rate, an equation in the form of the well-known Collipriest equation, which is widely used in estimating the crack growth rate in metal materials, is proposed. The values of empirical constants of the equation for a quasi-isotropic [45/90/-45/0](S)XAS/914 carbon/epoxy laminate in a tensile cyclic loading with R = 0.1 are obtained, and the S-N curve for it is constructed. A comparison of calculations with experimental data point to their acceptable accuracy.