Embedded and Surface Flaws in Unidirectional Composites
Abstract
Internal and surface flaws are sometimes formed in fiber reinforced composites during processing and in service. These flaws (cracks) may grow under applied thermo-mechanical loads and result in an ultimate failure of the composite. This paper deals with a particular class of unidirectional composites whose matrix and fiber have comparable stiffnesses; stiff matrix composites. The use of classical shear lag theory for the analysis of such composites is not justifiable because the load carrying capacity of the matrix cannot be neglected. A 3-D consistent shear lag model is developed for the stress analysis of a finite 3-D composite containing aligned fibers subjected to a uniform tensile load along the fiber direction. The governing equations consist of a set of ordinary coupled differential-difference equations in which the axial and transverse displacements are the unknowns. The results are presented for various embedded and surface flaw geometries. The displacement and stress fields are obtained to predict the mode of crack propagation based on a point stress failure criterion. © 1991.
Recommended Citation
L. Chai and L. R. Dharani, "Embedded and Surface Flaws in Unidirectional Composites," Computers and Structures, Elsevier, Jan 1991.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/0045-7949(91)90442-O
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0045-7949
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 1991 Elsevier, All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Jan 1991
