A thermodynamically consistent damage model is proposed for the simulation of progressive delamination in composite materials under variable-mode ratio. The model is formulated in the context of Damage Mechanics. A novel constitutive equation is developed to model the initiation and propagation of delamination. A delamination initiation criterion is proposed to assure that the formulation can a...

A new experimental technique is developed to determine the onset and evolution of delamination in fiber-reinforced composites under impact loading. The configuration uses a split-Hopkinson bar for low-velocity impact loading and two Polytec laser vibrometer systems for real-time monitoring of the initiation and progression of delamination. The experiment allows the histories of load, displaceme...

Effect of elastic anisotropy on indentation-induced thin film interfacial delamination, especially, at the initiation and early growth stage, is examined. The indentation load is modeled as a constant pressure over an expanding semi-spherical cavity. The delamination process is approached by a cohesive zone model. The rest of the problem is formulated within the general anisotropic elasticity t...

Compressing a thin elastic film attached to a thick compliant substrate can lead to buckling instability. Two commonly observed buckling modes, buckle-delamination and wrinkling, have each been analyzed separately in previous studies. Recent experiments have observed that the two modes can co-exist and co-evolve. In this paper, by analytical and finite element methods, we present a study on con...

Finite element analysis of the delamination crack propagation in laminated composites is presented. Fracture mechanics based Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT), and the cohesive element technique, have been used to simulate the delamination initiation and propagation under Mode-I type loading. Detailed description of the parameter selection process for these two techniques with ABAQUS®/Stan...

A high fidelity delamination failure analysis was developed by combining a local failure analysis with a global fullscale finite element structural analysis to address strength and delamination failure in a single package. The methodology was demonstrated through a local threedimensional pull-off failure analysis and a geometrically nonlinear structural analysis of a five-foot composite helicop...

Nowadays, due to high ratio of strength to weight, composite cylindrical shells are extensively used in a great variety of different industrial applications and under different cases of loads. In this study, the buckling of composite cylindrical shells was examined under uniform external pressure. The buckling analysis of composite cylindrical shells was first done by using theoretical relation...