Fiber Reinforced Laminates: Progressive Damage Modeling Based on Failure Mechanisms

Abstract

In the present article, computational modeling of progressive damage in continuous fiber reinforced laminates is considered. After a general review of modeling approaches and experimentally observed behavior of laminates, the focus is laid on predicting non-linear laminate behavior by models based on continuum damage mechanics. The wide variety of continuum damage models is demonstrated by example of three different damage models from the literature which are described in more detail. Finally, a ply level damage model developed by the authors is presented. The model is based on brittle failure mechanisms postulated by Puck and is able to capture several characteristics of the damage behavior of laminates. Furthermore, this brittle damage model is extended to include plastic shear deformations. It is shown, that the extended model capturing brittle damage and plastic strains leads to significant improvements in the prediction of the non-linear laminate behavior.

Hierarchical Architectures to Enhance Structural and Functional Properties of Brittle Materials

“…Such laminates have a highly hierarchical, multi-scale structure, and are typically made of rather brittle constituents with very dissimilar material properties, for example, for carbon fiber/epoxy composites, Young's modulus ratios in the order of 100 and strength ratios up to 50 (considering carbon fiber properties in longitudinal direction). [77] Whether or not, an initial (micro-) crack becomes critical to the whole structure depends on the failure mechanism triggered by a specific loading condition. This feature is most widely used to generate desired stiffness and strength behavior, but can also be applied to other properties.…”

Computational Implementation of a Thermodynamically Based Work Potential Model for Progressive Microdamage and Transverse Cracking in Fiber-reinforced Laminates

“…Some methods for capturing in-plane damage mechanisms at the continuum-level include using empirical failure criteria, continuum damage mechanics, and/or fracture mechanics and discontinuous methods. 10,12,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] In-plane damage mechanisms can also be captured with micromechanics models including repeating unit cell (RUC) and representative volume element (RVE) techniques, as well as other methods. 5,[34][35][36][37][38][39] Moreover, micromechanics models can be tied to the continuum scale using multiscale methods in which the RUC is homogenized to give the effective response of the continuum.…”

Prediction of plastic strain accumulation in continuous fiber reinforced laminates by a constitutive ply model

“…Nevertheless, the present model assumes that plastic shear strains are driven by tractions acting on planes which are similarly oriented as Puck's fracture planes (Schuecker and Pettermann 2008c). These planes are referred to as "shear planes" in the following.…”