Fracture Analysis of Delamination Failure in Angle-Ply Elastomer Composites

Fracture analysis of delamination type cracks in angle-ply elastomeric laminates was carried out using three-dimensional finite element analysis. The fracture parameter, tearing energy/J-integral that characterizes delamination failure in elastomer composites was computed from the finite element results of stresses and strains, and compared with existing analytical results using three different methods. The results obtained were validated with existing analytical methods in the literature. Numerical results of stress distributions and J-integral values are presented for various cord orientations and crack sizes. The results presented illustrate that cord-orientation and crack size have a strong effect on the values of tearing energy/J-integral. The results of the stress distributions and J-integral should help to improve our understanding of delamination type failures in elastomeric composite laminates.