Failure analysis of laminated composites subjected to flexural loadings

The failure of laminated composites under out-of-plane loadings is experimentally and numerically investigated. For flexure failure prediction, a modified failure criterion is proposed. A progressive failure algorithm is developed for numerical analyses. In experiments, quasi-isotropic and cross-ply laminated composites are fabricated by using unidirectional carbon fiber and glass fabric prepregs. Three-point bending test is performed and the accuracy of the failure algorithm is verified with experimental results. In addition, the flexure failure behaviors are compared with those of a commercial finite element analysis program using the other failure criteria such as maximum strain, maximum stress, and Tasi-Wu.