Thermo-elastic constants of symmetric and balanced laminates with intralaminar cracks in 90-layers depend on the opening displacement (COD) of the crack. The COD dependence on the interaction between cracks in the same layer is studied using FEM. The COD dependence on crack density is described by interaction function in form of tanh(). This interaction function multiplied with COD of non-interactive crack is the input parameter in analytical model for thermo-elastic properties of damaged symmetric and balanced laminates. Predictions performed for cross-ply laminates with cracks in inside and in surface layers and for quasi-isotropic laminates with different position of the 90-layer are in a very good agreement with direct FEM calculations.

Stiffness reduction simulation in laminates with intralaminar cracks is usually performed assuming that cracks are equidistant and crack density is the only parameter needed. However, the crack distribution in the damaged layer is very non-uniform, especially in the initial stage of multiple cracking. In this article, the earlier developed model for general symmetric laminates is generalized to account for non-uniform crack distribution. This model, in which the normalized average crack-opening and crack-sliding displacements are the main characteristics of the crack, is used to calculate the axial modulus of cross-ply laminates with cracks in internal and surface layers. In parametric analysis, the crack-opening displacement and crack-sliding displacement are calculated using finite element method, considering the smallest versus the average crack spacing ratio as non-uniformity parameter. It is shown that assuming uniform distribution, we obtain lower bond to elastic modulus. A ‘double-periodic’ approach presented to calculate the crack-opening displacement of a crack in a non-uniform case as the average of two solutions for periodic crack systems is very accurate for cracks in internal layers of cross-ply laminates, whereas for high crack density in surface layers, it underestimates the modulus reduction.

The change of thermoelastic properties of cross-ply and quasi-isotropic laminates with intralaminar cracks in layers is analysed. Predictions are performed using previously derived general expressions for stiffness of symmetric damaged laminates as dependent on crack density and crack face opening and sliding. It is shown that the average crack opening displacement can be linked with the average value of axial stress perturbation between two cracks. Using this relationship, analytical shear lag and Hashin’s models, developed for axial modulus, can be applied for calculating thermal expansion coefficients, in-plane moduli and Poisson’s ratios of damaged laminates. The approach is evaluated using finite element method and it is shown that the accuracy is rather similar to that in axial modulus calculation.

The degradation of the elastic properties of composite laminates with intralaminar cracks is caused by reduced stress in the damaged layer which is mainly due to two parameters: the crack opening displacement (COD) and the crack sliding displacement (CSD). In this paper these parameters are measured experimentally, providing laminate stiffness reduction models with valuable information for validation of used assumptions and for defining limits of their application. In particular, the displacement field on the edges of a [0/ +704/ −704]s glass fiber/epoxy laminate specimens with multiple intralaminar cracks is studied, and the COD and CSD dependence on the applied mechanical load is measured. The specimen full-field displacement measurement is carried out using ESPI (electronic speckle pattern interferometry). By studying the displacement discontinuities, the crack face displacements were measured. A comparison between the COD and the CSD (for the same crack) is performed