Chandra Veer Singh1,*
CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.34, No.3, pp. 227-249, 2013, DOI:10.3970/cmc.2013.034.227
Abstract A non-linear damage model is developed for the prediction of stiffness degradation in composite laminates due to transverse matrix cracking. The model follows the framework of a recently developed synergistic damage mechanics (SDM) approach which combines the strengths of micro-damage mechanics and continuum damage mechanics (CDM) through the so-called constraint parameters. A common limitation of the current CDM and SDM models has been the tendency to over-predict stiffness changes at high crack densities due to linearity inherent in their stiffness-damage relationships. The present paper extends this SDM approach by including higher order damage terms in More >