Abstract
By observation of the tensile fracture processes occurring in continuous fibre reinforced plastics, the micro-structural factors which govern the unstable propagation of a transverse crack have been identified. A tensile fracture criterion is thereby developed in which the notch sensitivity is related to the properties of the fibre, matrix and fibre/ matrix interface. The fracture criterion is applied to elliptically notched laminates, whence predictions of the effect of notch size on tensile fracture stress are compared with experimental results for circular notches of various diameters.

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