Analysis of composite laminates containing through-the-width and embedded delamination under bending using layerwise HSDT

Abstract

The effects of different boundary conditions on the composite laminate containing embedded and through-the-width delamination under bending load are investigated analytically based on a developed Layerwise Higher Order Shear Deformation Theory (LHSDT) and the results are compared with the three-dimensional Finite Element Method (FEM). Contact energy has been calculated. The results demonstrate the ability of the presented method of predicting the displacement fields of a composite laminate containing delamination and obtaining stress-strain curves in bending condition. Moreover, strain energy release rate can be achieved using the obtained displacements to evaluate the initiation of delamination propagation around the boundaries of the considered delaminated region. Furthermore, the failure of the laminate will be predicted using conventional theories such as Tsai-Wu.