A finite element formulation for the simulation of propagating delaminations in layered composite structures

This paper presents a #nite element method to simulate growing delaminations in composite structures. The delamination process, using an inelastic material law with softening, takes place within an interface layer having a small, but non-vanishing thickness. A stress criterion is used to detect the critical points. To prevent mesh-dependent solutions a regularization technique is applied. The arti#cial viscosity leads to corresponding sti=ness matrices which guarantee stable equilibrium iterations. The essential material parameter which describes the delamination process is the critical energy release rate. The #nite element calculations document the robustness and e=ectivity of the developed model. Extensive parameter studies are performed to show the in?uence of the introduced geometrical and material quantities