Analytical Study of Elastic-Plastic Fracture in the Crack-Lap Shear Multilayered Beam Configuration

Abstract

Abstract This paper reports an analytical study of delamination fracture in the Crack-Lap Shear (CLS) multilayered beam configuration with taking into account the material non-linearity. A delamination crack was located arbitrary along the beam height. It was assumed that the CLS mechanical response can be described by using a power-law stress-strain relation. It should be mentioned that each layer may have different material constants in the stress-strain relation. Besides, the thickness of each layer may be different. The classical beam theory was applied in the present study. The non-linear fracture behaviour was analyzed by the J-integral. Analytical solutions of the J-integral were obtained for homogeneous as well as for multilayered CLS beams. In order to verify the solutions obtained, analyses of the strain energy release rate were developed with considering material non-linearity. Material properties and crack location effects on the non-linear fracture behaviour were investigated. The analysis revealed that the J-integral value increases when the material non-linearity is taken into account. It was found also that the J-integral value decreases with increasing the lower crack arm thickness. The approach developed here is very convenient for parametric fracture analyses. The solutions derived can be used for optimization of the CLS multilayered beams with respect to their fracture performance.