ABSTRACT
A damage mechanics analysis was applied to predict transverse crack evolution in a laminated composite. The analysis was originally developed to predict thermoelastic properties of a laminate containing transverse cracks. Two criteria based on both critical average ply stress and critical energy release rate were used to discuss the transverse cracking behavior. The effect of delamination was also considered in the present study. The predictions of transverse crack density based on both criteria were successfully compared with experimental results. This analysis can be applied to laminate with arbitrary lay-up configuration.
