Predictions of delamination of woven fabrication using a cohesive zone model

In this paper Cohesive zone models are investigated in order to study delamination onset. The specimens were made of woven E-glass fiber and epoxy resin with fiber-volume fraction of Vf =53%. A simple structural test is proposed to validate the measured cohesive zone parameters. The values for Mode I and Mode II cohesive strengths (σIC and τIIC) were computed using the button peel stress (BPS) test and the single lap joint (SLJ) test respectively. The ability of a finite element cohesive zone model to predict delamination in a woven structural is investigated. Onset and growth of the delamination preexisting crack in the fracture specimens are simulated by using modeling possibility within commercial finite element code ABAQUS. Comparisons between numerical predictions of finite element models with different mesh size and experimental load-displacement were performed. The predicted responses obtained with the Abaqus cohesive elements correlate well with the experimental solutions when the mesh refinement is modified.