Delamination Failure Investigation for Out-of-Plane Loading...

In contrast to failure approaches at the lamina level or the micromechanisms level, the present work concerns failure characterization at the laminate level. Specifically, attention is given to the ultimate failure characterization for quasi-isotropic laminates. The work here is mainly given over to the delamination mode of failure. Experimental results are presented for laminates in this mode of failure. These results are then integrated with the analytical forms to give a simple criterion for delamination failure. Authors: Richard M. Christensen (Stanford University, Stanford, CA), Steven J. Deteresa (University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA).