ABSTRACT
Delamination may originate from manufacturing imperfections, cracks produced by fatigue or low velocity impact, stress concentration near geometrical/material discontinuity such as joints and free edges, or due to high interlaminar stresses. In laminates loaded in compression, the delaminated laminas may buckle, and cracks propagate due to interaction between delamination growth and buckling. The presence of delaminations may reduce drastically the buckling load and the compressive strength of the composite laminates. Delamination growth may be caused by dynamic effects, such as vibration and impact. The dynamics effects resulting from the inertia of the laminate on the growth process resulting from the buckling of the delamination has been investigated for a circular delamination and time-dependent loadings. In the fracture mechanics approach, the propagation of an existing delamination is analyzed by comparing the amount of energy release rate with the fracture toughness of the interface.
