Analysis of Anisotropic Composite Laminate with a Part-Through Crack

Abstract

An anisotropic composite laminate containing a part-through crack parallel to the fiber direction is analyzed. The composite laminate is modeled as an assembly of cracked and uncracked plates bonded by a thin resin-rich layer. The cracked plate is considered to contain a through crack of finite length along the fiber direction. The problem is reduced to a pair of Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. By solving these equations numerically the mixed mode stress intensity factors K(I) and K(II) in the cracked plate are calculated for various fiber orientations. The in-plane stresses of the cracked plate are calculated to see whether the finite region used to solve these equations is adequate