Stress intensity factors as the fracture parameters for delamination crack growth in composite laminates (Q1129566)

We use a ``mutual integral'' approach to calculate the mixed-mode stress intensity factors for a free-edge delamination crack in a laminate under tensile loading conditions. This ``mutual integral'' approach, for generalized plane strain conditions, is based on the application of the path-independent J-integral to a linear combination of three solutions: one, a solution to the problem of the laminate obtained by using the quasi three-dimensional finite element method, the second, an ``auxiliary'' solution with known asymptotic singular solution, and the third, the particular solution due to the out-of-plane loading. A comparison with the exact solutions is made to determine the accuracy and efficiency of this numerical method.