On cross-ply cracking in glass and carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy laminates

Abstract The transverse tensile strength (or fracture strain) of unidirectional fibre-reinforced materials is an important mechanical property. The transverse fracture strain of a single ply in an angle-ply laminate, however, is not an independent mechanical property as it is influenced by its thickness and neighbouring plies. The present investigation describes the phenomenon of multiple fracture of glass and carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy 90° plies. Based on the model that a 90° ply consists of elements all of which can break, the applicability of Weibull statistics in describing the fracture strain is investigated.