Close examination of the delaminated surfaces of laminated polymeric composites will often reveal the presence of a damage zone ahead of the advancing delamination. In thermosetting polymeric matrices, the damage zone will most likely contain micro-shear cracks. Their presence can introduce nonlinearities to the response of the interface and thus affect the growth of the delamination. The evolution of delaminations containing this type of damage zone is examined. The formation of the damage zone is modeled via a non-linear interfacial constitutive relationship that is based on a micro-mechanics solution for distributed non-interacting cracks. The mechanical characteristics of the interface constitutive relationship are examined. In addition, the delamination behavior of a laminate possessing this type of interfacial response and subjected to simulated low velocity impact condition is investigated.
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