On the validity of the J-integral as a measure of the transverse intralaminar fracture energy of glass fiber-reinforced polyurethanes with nonlinear material behavior

The determination of the fracture toughness of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) exhibiting significant nonlinear material behavior requires the use of methods that take into account the contribution of nonlinear phenomena on the computation of the crack driving force. While the J -integral method has been standardized (ASTM E1820) and extensively used to quantify the fracture toughness of homogeneous nonlinear materials, its validity to...