Interlaminar fracture toughness of unidirectional DCB specimens: A novel theoretical approach

A novel theoretical approach is presented to calculate the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness (GIc) of double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens with low ratio of initial crack length-to-thickness (a0/2h). This method is based on a sixth-order beam theory, namely Reddy-Bickford beam (RB), on Winkler elastic foundation (WEF) to account for both transverse shear deformation of the beam and local effects at the delamination front (root rotation)....