A dynamic model for laminated plates with delaminations

generalized theory for laminated plates, including delamination, is developed. The laminate model is based on a generalized displacement formulation implemented at the layer level. The equations of motion for a layer, which are explicitly coupled with both the interfacial traction continuity and the interfacial displacement jump conditions between layers, are used to develop the governing equations for a laminated composite plate. The delamination behavior can be modeled using any general constitutive fracture law. The interfacial displacement jumps are expressed in an internally consistent fashion in terms of the fundamental unknown interfacial tractions. The current theory imposes no restrictions on the size, location, distribution, or direction of growth of the delaminations. Therefore, the theory can predict the initiation and growth of delaminations at any location as well as interactive effects between delaminations at different locations within the laminate. The proposed theory is used to consider the dynamic response of laminated plates in cylindrical bending. First it is shown that the dynamic implementation agrees well with the exact predictions of a plate under static loading conditions. Static, cylindrical bending is considered to validate the numerical implementation. Next, different dynamic loading cases are considered. First, the required level of discretization through the thickness of the laminate necessary to accurately capture the wave propagation characteristics for monotonic tensile loading transverse to the plate is determined. Next, the influence of the delamination on the free vibration behavior of a plate is considered. It is shown that the presence of delaminations can result in significant deviations from the perfectly bonded free vibration behavior. Finally, the plate is subjected to dynamic loading conditions that demonstrate the influence of internal wave interactions on the overall behavior of the plate. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd