Prediction of Delamination Buckling and Growth Behavior in Laminated Composites with Coexisting Delaminations

Finite element method (FEM) using cohesive element is developed to predict delamination buckling and growth behavior in laminated composites with coexisting delaminations under compressive loading. It is shown that the buckling behavior of coexisting delaminations is far more complicated than single embedded delamination. In the course of delamination buckling and growth, a parametric study was carried out to investigate the influence of the distance between coexisting delaminations, delamination size and depth position of a series of composite plates. In particular, a three zone rule was put forwarded to define the interaction behavior between coexisting delaminations. Moreover, it is shown that the potential of delamination growth strongly depends on the distance between coexisting delaminations.