Accurate mode-separated energy release rates for delamination cracks

Babuška and Oh introduced a new approach, called the method of auxiliary mapping (MAM), that can effectively handle singularities in the framework of the p-version of the FEM. In this paper, this new approach is generalized so that it can yield highly accurate energy release rates for the cracks in composite materials. The results obtained by this method are more accurate than those obtained by the conventional methods (quarter-point singularity elements). Moreover, it is demonstrated that the mode-separated energy rates of interlaminar cracks of a laminate virtually converge when its layers are of the same material and have different fiber orientations.