Analysis of the fracture characteristic volume (FCV) for laminated composite structures with stress concentrations in compression

The failure of laminated composite structures is linked to the numerous mechanisms that can appear during the material degradation phase under loading. The approach proposed here is to use Continuum Damage Mechanics to describe the matrix degradation at the ply scale and a non-local criterion, called Fracture Characteristic Volume (FCV), to predict the failure in the fiber direction. The FCV is a circular cylinder with a thickness equal to that of the ply where it is applied. The criterion is defined by comparing an average value inside the FCV, the stress in the fiber direction for example, to a maximum allowable value. This approach has been validated for the prediction of failure for complex geometries with stress concentrations in tension. The objective of this paper is to study the effectiveness of this criterion on different laminates and concentration types in the case of compression.