On the behaviour of the residual strain produced by matrix cracking in cross-ply laminates

Abstract

Transparent cross-ply laminates with a range of ply thicknesses have been loaded monotonically to produce either (1) a range of crack densities; or (2) a single crack. The residual strains produced as a consequence of the damage have been measured. It is found that the residual strains are in reasonable agreement with the predictions of models based on shear-lag analyses or variational mechanics. A small, but significant, reduction in the residual strain with time to a steady-state value is discussed in terms of the possible non-linear and time-dependent behaviour of the out-of-plane shear modulus, G23. © 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.