A continuum damage model for composite laminates: Part I – Constitutive model

A continuum damage model for the prediction of the onset and evolution of intralaminar failure mechanisms and the collapse of structures manufactured in fiber-reinforced plastic laminates is proposed. The failure mechanisms occurring in the longitudinal and transverse directions of a ply are represented by a set of scalar damage variables. Crack closure effects under load reversal are taken into account by using damage variables that are established as a function of the sign of the components of the stress tensor. Damage activation functions based on the LaRC04 failure criteria are used to predict the different failure mechanisms occurring at the ply level.