Calculation of energy release rate in composite delaminated cylindrical shells under circumferential concentrated dynamic load

The delamination growth may occur in delaminated cylindrical shells subjected to external dynamic load and it will further cause structural failure. Based on the variational principle of moving boundary and considering the contact effect between delamination regions, in this paper, the nonlinear governing equations for the delaminated cylindrical shells under the action of circumferential concentrated dynamic load are derived, and the corresponding boundary and matching conditions are given. At the same time, according to the Griffith criterion, the formulas of energy release rate along the delamination front are obtained and the delamination growth is studied. In the numerical calculation, the delamination growth of axisymmetrical laminated cylindrical shells is analyzed, and the effects of the delamination sizes and depths, the geometrical parameters, the material properties and the laminate stacking sequences on delamination growth are discussed.