Fracture analysis of center cracked laminated composite plate subjected to bi-axial loading using extended finite element method

Among various numerical method, finite element method (FEM) is extensively used but handling the fracture problem with conventional FEM is time-consuming and costly. So, extended finite element method (XFEM) which is based on partition of unity method and enrichment functions is used to handle material with discontinuities. In the present study, fracture analysis of center cracked layered composite plate under different biaxial loadings (tensile, shear and combined) using XFEM is investigated and mixed mode stress intensity factor (MMSIF) is calculated for different parameters.