An analytical method is presented to determine the delamination buckling and growth of an axially loaded laminated beam-plate with through-the-width delamination at an arbitrary location in loading direction. The influence of the delamination size, depth, and location on initial buckling and strain energy release rate is investigated with consideration of the transverse shear deformation. Results of the analysis show that the delamination buckling load depends on the delamination location, length, and depth. The buckling load is significantly affected by the location of the unsymmetric delamination in axial direction for the relatively thick delamination. Investigated are the effects of the transverse shear deformation on the growth of delamination. The energy-release-rate with the transverse shear deformation is higher than without transverse shear deformation.
The experiments performed on the critical load and the growth characteristics of Gr/Ep unidirectional specimens with through-the width delamination is also discussed. Results of the experiments show good agreement with analytic results and various postbuckling characteristics depending on delamination configuration.
