A consistent geometrically non-linear approach for delamination

A new model is presented for the simulation of delamination in laminated composite materials. A key feature is that the material structure and the nite element mesh are uncoupled. The displacement discontinuities that arise during the delamination process are described mathematically using discontinuous functions. This leads naturally to a set of coupled equations for the continuous and the discontinuous parts of the response. Discontinuities can pass through solid nite elements arbitrarily, with the displacement jump continuous across element boundaries. The performance of the model is demonstrated for several problems of delamination and geometric instability