Finite element modeling of composite plates with internal delamination

A three-dimensional (3D) finite element model of delaminated fiber-reinforced composite plates is developed to analyze their dynamics. Natural frequencies and modal displacements are calculated for various case studies with different dimensions and delamination characteristics. Numerical results showed a good agreement with available experimental data. A new proposed model shows enhancement of the accuracy of the results. This study also introduces a method for detecting delamination in composite plates.