A Statistical Approach to Evaluate the Effect of Manufacturing Quality on Transverse Cracking in Cross Ply Laminates

Most studies of the effects of manufacturing defects such as voids have focused on composite strength properties, e.g. the interlaminar strength [1]. The current study investigates how irregularities in the manufacturing process affect progressive damage in the subcritical regime. This effort is along the lines of a broader strategy for performance evaluation of composites coined as defect damage mechanics by Talreja [2]. In this approach one accounts for the effect of defects on the initiation and progression of damage as an integral part of the evaluation of materials response. The traditional approach is to evaluate the effects of defects and damage separately in homogenized composites.