Effect of stress ratio or mean stress on fatigue delamination growth in composites: Critical review

The studies reported in the literature on the effect of stress ratio or mean stress on fatigue delamination growth in composites are critically reviewed in this paper. These studies are classified according to their mode of fracture. Majority of the studies lack a mechanistic approach to the delamination growth characterization and the effect of stress ratio. The researchers are divided in the use of a unified correlating parameter for the delamination growth. The mechanisms of fatigue crack growth in metals are often extended to the delamination growth characterization.