Effect of mode III fracture on composite laminates

The digital speckle correlation method (DSCM) is preformed to study the inplane displacements along the x and y direction of laminated composite panels containing preset elliptical damage. The different principle axis of the ellipse and the different sequence of laminates are considered in the experiments. It is shown that the method is very useful to get the displacements on the laminate surface and between the adjacent plies. According to the experiment results, the deformations of x and y direction can be obtained. The conclusion that the mode III fracture may exist and may have an effect on the crack growth is formed. The total strain energy release rate is calculated by the finite element method. Using Mindlin plate theory and the virtual crack closure technique, the energy release rate of mode III fracture can be calculated by FEM. The results show that mode III fracture has an influence on the total energy release rate and also on the delamination growth. The energy release rate of mode III fracture cannot be ignored. The delamination growth also is influenced by the stacking sequence. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.