Initiation of damage in composite plates under transverse central static loading

Experimental and analytical studies have been carried out on transverse static central load threshold for damage initiation. Experiments have been carried out on a typical plain weave E-glass/epoxy laminated plate. A good correlation is observed between the experimental results and finite element analysis predictions. Further, analytical studies have been carried out on the effect of reinforcement architecture on the load threshold for damage initiation. It is observed that transverse static central load threshold for damage initiation is higher for woven fabric composites compared to those of cross-ply laminates made of unidirectional layers and unidirectional composites