Optically measured full-field displacements on the edge of a cracked composite laminate

The main objectives of this study are to visualize the displacement field on the edge of a [0, 554, −554]s GF/EP laminate specimen with multiple transverse cracks and to analyze the crack opening displacement dependence on the applied mechanical load. The specimen full-field displacement measurement was carried out using ESPI (Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry) and phase-shifting. ESPI is an optical technique that provides the displacement for every point on a surface. The measurement resolution is roughly 20 nm. The displacement measurement is along the tensile axis and takes place on the specimen edge.Using the displacement map, it is possible to obtain the displacement profiles along the tensile-axis. The different profiles were drawn along the specimen edge at several distances from the mid-plane corresponding to the different plies. Studies of the displacement discontinuities make it possible to carry out a measurement of the crack opening displacements corresponding to the cracks in the measurement field. The experimental results are in a good agreement with idealized straight crack model in low stress region and much larger in the high stress region, which is attributed to development of local inter-ply delaminations.