A study of the influence of a nearby fibre on the interface crack growth under transverse compression in composite materials

The results reveal that when the nearby fibre is aligned with the position at which the first damage appears (or at 120° from it) an accelerative effect on crack growth initiation (versus the single-fibre case) is detected, whereas for the rest of positions the effect is the opposite. Moreover, when the nearby fibre is positioned approximately perpendicular to the external load direction, the interface crack achieves considerably greater lengths.