Localization of microfailure in fibrous composites

Conclusion When a fibrous composite is loaded, the process of microfailures becomes localized in consequence of the nonuiformity of internal stresses. The degree of localization can be quantitatively characterized by the magnitude of the parameter of localization whose determination was provided in the present work. The dependence of the parameter of localization on the stress applied to the specimen can be measured experimentally from the data on the location of the coordinates of the sources of AE, and it can be calculated theoretically on the basis of the model of failure of the composite. A comparison of the theoretical model with the experimental data makes it possible to determine the magnitude of the overstresses in the fibers of the composite material and the form of the distribution function of these overstresses.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 3, pp. 437–443, May–June, 1989.