Bending response of cross-ply laminated composite plates with diagonally perturbed localized interfacial degeneration

A laminated composite plate element with an interface description is developed using the finite element approach to investigate the bending performance of two-layer cross-ply laminated composite plates in presence of a diagonally perturbed localized interfacial degeneration between laminae. The stiffness of the laminate is expressed through the assembly of the stiffnesses of lamina sub-elements and interface element, the latter of which is formulated adopting the well-defined virtually zero-thickness concept. To account for the extent of both shear and axial weak bonding, a degeneration ratio is introduced in the interface formulation. The model has the advantage of simulating a localized weak bonding at arbitrary locations, with various degeneration areas and intensities, under the influence of numerous boundary conditions since the interfacial description is expressed discretely. Numerical results show that the bending behavior of laminate is significantly affected by the aforementioned parameters, the greatest effect of which is experienced by those with a localized total interface degeneration, representing the case of local delamination.