Post-buckling behavior of composite panels in the presence of unstable delaminations

The analysis of the non-linear behavior of delaminated composites panels un der compression is considered. A modification to the incremental continuati on method (by Riks) for the analysis of the non-linear behavior of damaged composites is proposed to improve the numerical treatment of the analysis o f unstable delamination growth. The theoretical formulation of this modific ation is first presented in conjunction with a general formulation of the c ontinuation method and the modified virtual crack closure technique (MVCCT) for the evaluation of delamination growth. Finally, numerical results for delaminated composite plates through the width and circular delaminations a re presented and compared with existing experimental and numerical data. (C ) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.