Mechanisms of Internal Damage and Their Effect on the Behavior and Properties of Cross-Ply Composite Laminates

This paper is a review of experimental and theoretical studies into the damage mechanisms in glass/epoxy and carbon/epoxy cross-ply composite laminates subjected to static or cyclic loading and their influence on the behavior and stiffness properties of such laminates. How the equivalent-constraint model is applied to the analysis of cross-ply laminates with transverse and longitudinal matrix cracks and crack-tip delaminations is shown and discussed.