Some applications of two-dimensional stress transfer analyses

Abstract

Two-dimensional stress transfer analyses are performed for the following system: a long central plate bonded on opposite sides along its length to two short plates and subjected to tensile loading at its ends. The load transfers from the long plate to the short plate through the interfacial shear stress. The system represents the unit cell of platelet-reinforced composites, in which parallel matrix cracks are uniformly spaced and are bridged by the platelet, in a two-dimensional sense. Analytical solutions for the crack opening displacement, the additional displacement of the composite due to the presence of cracks, and stress intensity factor at the crack tip are derived. Letting the long plate and the short plates have the same mechanical properties, the analytical solutions are compared to the existing numerical solutions for tensile loading of both a double edge notch strip and a semi-infinite plane with parallel edge cracks. Good agreement is obtained in this comparison.