Modeling of Delamination in Composite Laminates under Fatigue Loading

In the present research, a cohesive zone model degradation law is proposed for analyzing delamination crack propagation under fatigue loading. The basis for the formulation is a cohesive law that links Fracture and Damage Mechanics to establish the evolution of the damage variable. Development of the model is based on a detailed study of the cohesive zone length. The result compared with experimental Paris curve. It is shown that by using the fatigue damage model, the result of numerical analysis have shown good agreement with experimental crack propagation rates.

Keywords:

Delamination fatigue , Cohesive zone model , Cohesive zone length , Cyclic cohesive zone.