Analysis of damage mode transition in a cross-ply laminate under uniaxial loading

The aim of this work is to study the transition from one damage mode to another. The three damage mechanisms usually observed in [0m/90n]s long fibre cross-ply laminates with organic matrix are transverse cracking, which appears first, longitudinal cracking and/or delamination. The proposed analytical model is meant to describe the development of transverse cracks and to predict the order of initiation of subsequent damage modes; it relies on the strain energy release rate associated with each damage mechanism.