The mechanics of interface fracture in layered composite materials: (3) experimental assessments - macroscopic interface fractures

Several valuable and popular mixed mode partition theories are assessed against experimental results for the prediction of delamination toughness of fiber-reinforced laminated composites. It is shown that Wang and Harvey’s classical partition theory [1-6] gives the most accurate predictions; Davidson et al.’s non-singular field partition theory [7, 8] also gives accurate predictions; but the Wang and Harvey’s shear deformable partition theory [1-6] and the singular-field partition theory [7-10] gives poor predictions. It is concluded that the Wang and Harvey’s classical partition theory [1-6] governs macroscopic interface fractures.