Investigating factors influencing interlaminar stresses and energy release rates of semi-elliptical cracks at free edges

Traditional approaches that rely on stress or energy-based criteria to predict delamination require the determination of stresses before crack onset or energy release rates after crack initiation, respectively. While a relatively new coupled criterion, Finite Fracture Mechanics, necessitates the computation of both stresses and energy release rates. This study discusses the numerical determination of the interlaminar stresses and energy release rates of interlaminar semi-elliptical cracks emanating at the free edge in carbon fibre-reinforced polymer materials. The method establishes a new semi-analytical framework, based on dimensional analysis, which permits obtaining a functional expression for the stresses and the energy release rates in function of material and geometrical parameters. This framework eliminates the need to re-solve the underlying boundary value problem for a different material, geometry, and load. The non-dimensional functions are obtained by performing careful interpolation from a set of finite element solutions, ensuring predictions are accurate and within acceptable numerical limits. The influence of material contrast and relative ply thickness on interlaminar stresses and energy release rates are investigated using the semi-analytical framework. Additionally, the fracture mechanics analysis is also conducted to investigate the influence of semi-axes of semi-elliptical crack on energy release rate distributions. Understanding the interlaminar stresses and energy release rates is essential for applying either stress, energy, or coupled criterion to predict the structural strength of a layered body.