A critical plane-based fracture criterion for mixed-mode delamination in composite materials

A new critical plane-based mixed-mode delamination failure criterion is proposed in this study. First, many existing models are reviewed and their capability to handle the mixed-mode fracture of general anisotropic materials are discussed. Following this, a previously developed critical plane approach is extended to analyze the interfacial fracture of composite materials by considering the anisotropic fracture resistance under mixed-mode loadings. Next, comparison with extensive experimental data available in the literature is performed to demonstrate the validity of the proposed criterion. A general good agreement is observed between the model's predictions and experimental observations. Finally, some conclusions and future work are drawn based on the proposed study. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.