Interfacial Stress Concentrations Near Free Edges and Cracks by the Boundary Finite Element Method

ABSTRACT In the present paper the Boundary Finite Element Method is presented as a boundary discretization method for the numerical investigation of interfacial stress concentrations in composite laminates. In contrast to the classical boundary element method, the element formulation is finite element based, which avoids the necessity of a fundamental solution. Comparative results from finite element calculations show good agreement both for the laminate free-edge effect and for the example of the stress concentrations near cracks in composite laminates.