Methods based on fracture mechanics have been widely used in fatigue delamination growth (FDG) characterization of composite laminates. These methods are based on the similitude hypothesis. It is therefore important to have appropriate parameters to well represent the similitude, which is useful for fatigue delamination test standard development aimed by Technical Committee 4 of the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS TC4) and the ISO/TC61/SC13. In the present study, discussions on similitude parameters for fibre-bridged fatigue delamination interpretation have been conducted via fatigue data with fibre bridging at different R-ratios. The results clearly demonstrate that the strain energy release rate (SERR) indeed applied around the crack front, rather than the total applied SERR, should be employed to represent the similitude for FDG interpretation with large-scale fibre bridging. Particularly, the use of Δ√Gtip can well determine fibre-bridged delamination behavior of a given R-ratio, but it is not valid for FDG at different R-ratios in accordance with the similitude principles. A new similitude parameter, in terms of both Δ√Gtip and the maximum SERR Gmax_tip, was therefore proposed to appropriately represent FDG behavior with fibre bridging at different R-ratios. This study can not only provide database, but also give important insights for the development of mode I fatigue delamination test standard of composite laminates.@en

Carbon-fibre reinforced composites are susceptible to delamination. Fibre bridging is an important shielding mechanism frequently observed in delamination. The presence of these bridging fibres can significantly increase interlaminar resistance, making it critical to represent this phenomenon for delamination characterization in composite laminates. To this end, in-situ SEM examinations were carried out to thoroughly explore damage mechanisms around delamination front as well as in bridging fibres. It was found that micro-cracks initiated at fibre–matrix interface can gradually develop and coalesce into micro-delaminations ahead of the main crack. The accumulation of these micro-delaminations can finally cause macro delamination propagation. The performance of bridging fibres can be summarized as three typical stages, i.e. bending, fibre–matrix peeling and final breakage with crack opening. Subsequently, theoretical discussions on bridging stress distribution were conducted in accordance with these bridging mechanism examinations, contributing to a new traction-separation constitutive to represent fibre bridging performance. A FEA prediction model was finally developed to characterize delamination behavior with fibre bridging. The simulation results can agree well with the experimental data in the entire delamination, demonstrating its effectiveness in fibre-bridged delamination representation. This study also demonstrated the importance of having in-depth understanding on fibre bridging mechanisms to appropriately represent bridging performance during delamination growth in composite laminates.@en