Cohesive analysis of a 3D benchmark for delamination growth under quasi‐static and fatigue loading conditions.

This paper evaluates the capabilities of the recently developed CF20 cohesive fatigue model, which can predict crack initiation as well as the rates of crack propagation by relying on intrinsic relationships between a stress‐life diagram and its corresponding Paris law. The model is validated here using a partially reinforced double cantilever beam (R‐DCB) benchmark proposed in literature. The two parameters needed for the CF20 cohesive fatigue model were obtained by performing preliminary analyses of a conventional DCB. The analysis results indicate that the CF20 cohesive fatigue model can accurately reproduce the complex evolution of the delamination observed in the R‐DCB. Highlights: A 3D benchmark is analyzed using the mixed‐mode CF20 cohesive fatigue formulation.The parameters of the model are obtained from experimental results of DCB specimens.The model predicts crack growth rate and delamination shape changes during propagation.A parametric study illustrates the precision needed to accurately predict the final delamination length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]