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Delamination is one of the most common failure modes of laminated composite materials, and can be caused by manufacturing defects or impact loading. Under compression, a delaminated composite plate may buckle and tend to enlarge the delaminated area, which can lead to loss of global structural stability. This paper presents the elastic buckling and postbuckling analysis of an axially loaded beam-plate with an across-the-width delamination, located at a given depth below the upper surface of the plate. The analysis is done by considering a layered orthotropic plate containing through-width delamination, subjected to in-plane compression. The problem is analyzed by two approaches: (i) A simple analytical model for determining strain energy release rate is obtained using integral transform approach; (ii) A finite element representation of the problem is modeled and analyzed using MSC/NASTRAN and the buckling load is calculated.

Analytical solution for critical buckling loads in a laminated composite plate with an embedded delamination is obtained using energy based approach. The effect of fiber orientation and delamination size on the local buckling load is calculated. Critical buckling load decreases with increase in the fiber orientation angle and delamination size and the results are in good agreement with the literature results.

Current methods of life extension of high temperature components have been examined. Importance of changing section size as a result of corrosion and erosion has been emphasized. A simple method based on the influence of service exposure on rupture strength of the material and the data collected on loss of section size during routine shutdown of plants has been suggested. Highlights of the computer software developed to assist such an exercise have been discussed. The outputs have been shown to compare fairly well with the results reported in literature.