Fracture modelling in lab-size FRP composite coupons using an RVE-based embedded multiscale approach

Experimental analyses of FRP composite laminates fail to predict and correlate the type and sequence of fracture modes in macroscopic damage observations [1]. To overcome these difficulties, a computational framework to model and simulate coupon-size experimental setups of FRP laminate using multiscale modelling techniques is presented in this work. The framework enables the integration of internal architecture and a detailed description of fracture for the micromechanics of laminate. The multiscale model embeds the microregion within a coupon-sized homogeneous part. The lower scale is modelled via a Representative Volume Element (RVE) incorporating the fundamental constituents: fibres, polymer matrix, and fibre-matrix interface to directly correlates the complex damage micro-mechanisms that remain hardly visible at the macroscopic level [2]. This work investigates the global toughness of FRP laminates by simulating the three basic fracture modes on the single-edge notch test (SENT) specimen. The constitutive model of polymer is a modular combination of viscoelastic and pressure-dependent plastic. Rate-dependent elasticity uses Prony-series implementation, while the pressure-dependent plasticity employs paraboloidal yield criterion within the finite strain theory. The damage criterion in the matrix is based on the fracture energy for the pure matrix. The built-in general contact formulation is enriched with cohesive traction-separation interaction law for the fibre-matrix interface. With this combination of nonlinear and rate-dependent material features, both inter, and intra-ply failure micro-mechanisms can be studied in detail in UD-based composite laminates made of thermosets or thermoplastics. REFERENCES [1] A.R. Melro, P.P. Camanho, F.M. Andrade Pires, S.T. Pinho, Micromechanical analysis of polymer composites reinforced by unidirectional fibres: Part I – Constitutive modelling, Int. J. Solids Struct. 50 (2013) 1897–1905. [2] N. Leitão, F.A. Gilabert, A unified J-Integral-based procedure to investigate at different loading regimes the fracture by FEM simulations and image analysis, J. Mech. Phys. Solids. 149 (2021) 24.

Jaar van publicatie:2022

Toegankelijkheid:Closed