Abstract
A finite element formulation is presented to study the buckling behavior of axially loaded beam plates with multiple delaminations. A simple 6 degree-of-freedom beam-column finite element is used to model the beam plate. The delaminations are assumed to be present throughout the width of the beam-plate. Results are obtained for two delaminations having equal lengths and located one above the other. Results are presented for beam-plates having both ends (i) simply supported, and (ii) clamped. For beams with two delaminations, the stability of the beam in compression is found to depend greatly on the thinner delaminated region, especially when one delaminated region is much thinner than the other two. The energy release rate is determined using numerical differentiation.
