Periodic boundary conditions for FE analyses of a representative volume element for composite laminates with one cracked ply and delaminations

In this work, a periodic laminate Representative Volume Element (RVE) is developed for composite laminates having cracks in a single ply and delaminations originated from those cracks. The boundary conditions to be applied for a Finite Element (FE) analysis are illustrated in details for different loading conditions, namely longitudinal, transverse, and shear stress, as well as for temperature gradient. The proposed RVE can be used to calculate the elastic properties of a damaged laminate, the stress trends in each ply, the Energy Release Rate (ERR) of the off-axis cracks and the ERR of the delaminations. Some examples are reported for each of those applications. Eventually, the proposed laminate RVE is validated against FE of full laminates and experimental data.