Three-dimensional analysis of transverse crack fiber bridging in laminated composite plates

A three-dimensional analysis method for the fiber bridging of transverse crack in the laminated composite plates was established by the extended layerwise method (XLWM), taking into account the influence of interlaminar delamination. In this method, the composite plate with delamination and transverse crack is simulated by XLWM, and the bridging fibers are simulated by three-dimensional bar elements. The governing equation of composite with damages and fiber bridging can be obtained from combining the equations of plate and fibers by the displacement compatibility conditions at the plate-fiber coupling interfaces. In order to obviate remeshing and reduce the modeling difficulties resulted from the meshing consistency requirement of plate and fibers, the displacements of fibers are expressed in terms of the interpolation polynomials employed in the element of each sublayer in composite plates. In the numerical examples, the plates with central and edge crack were investigated firstly to validate the proposed method, and then the effects of the fiber bridging on the opening displacement, the stress distribution in fibers and the stress intensity factor (SIF) of crack tips were investigated for the transverse crack in composite plates. The fiber bridging of the composite plates with delamination and transverse crack was considered as well.