Fracture Analysis of Unidirectional Composites

Abstract

The concept of fracture mechanics is applied to analyze the brittle fracture of unidirectional composites. The analytical prediction based on the newly developed S_c-theory agrees well with the experimental data on Scotchply 1002 where crack propagation occurs along the fiber direction. The S_c-theory represents a departure from the classical stress-intensity factor K_cconcept in that it is designed to treat the mixed mode fracture problem while the K_c-theory is limited to Mode I crack extension.