Intralaminar fracture toughness characterisation of woven composite laminates. Part I: Design and analysis of a compact tension (CT) specimen

Different geometric configurations of the compact tension (CT) specimen have been investigated for the characterisation of the tensile intralaminar fracture toughness of woven composite laminates. The objective is to ensure that the required crack extension for experimental characterisation will occur in the absence of any other damage mechanism. Parametric Finite Element (FE) analyses in combination with the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT) have been carried out for the different geometries. Based on these analyses, the so-called doubly-tapered compact tension (2TCT) has been selected as the most appropriate specimen geometry.