Towards damage tolerant design of laminated components

Abstract

Laminated composites are becoming increasingly attractive as primary structural components of aerospace vehicles. The possibility of small undetectable manufacturing defects and the development of damages during service has become an important concern in designing such structures. Analogous to the fracture mechanics approach to design of metallic structures, damage tolerant design of laminated composites is discussed in this paper. Some of the available analytical tools are briefly reviewed and a global-local approach has been indicated as a possible procedure for damage tolerant design of laminated components.