A Correlative Study Between Analysis and Experiment on the Fracture Behavior of Graphite/Epoxy Composites

Abstract

Abstract Several of the current approaches to the analysis of the fracture behavior of notched fiber-reinforced composites are reviewed and discussed. Experimental results of fracture tests on uniaxial tensile strips containing center cracks are presented. Photoelastic coating photographs illustrate the regions of high stress gradient ahead of the crack for the various laminates investigated, namely, [0 deg]8s, [0 deg/90 deg]4s, [± 45 deg]4s, and [0 deg/±45 deg/0 deg]2s. A brief discussion of damage zones and fracture planes is given. Comparisons between several two-parameter fracture models and a new boundary integral equation approach of Cruse are made and comparisons between predictions of fracture strength using these models and experimental results are presented.