Tensile failure model of carbon fibre in unidirectionally reinforced epoxy composites with mean-field homogenisation. (1st October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wu, Ling; Maillard, Etienne; Noels, Ludovic
• Is Part Of: Composite structures. Volume 273(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10-01
• Subjects: Mean-field homogenisation -- Incremental-secant formulation -- Fibre bundle failure -- Matrix cracking -- Unidirectional composites; Composite construction -- Periodicals; Composites -- Périodiques; 624.18
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2021.114270
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-8223

Abstract

Abstract: This paper presents an extension of the so-called incremental-secant mean-field homogenisation (MFH) formulation accounting for fibre bundle failure and matrix cracking in Unidirectional (UD) composites. First a model for fibre bundle failure is developed based on the strength failure probability of the carbon fibre described by a Weibull distribution. This fibre bundle failure model is then framed in a damage model of embedded bundles in a matrix by considering an exponential relation to describe the longitudinal stress build-up profile experimentally observed during failure of embedded fibre bundles. Cracking of the matrix in UD composites is accounted for through an anisotropic non-local damage model, which allows capturing the so-called 0° splits experimentally observed during the longitudinal tension of UD plies. A Mean Field Homogenisation (MFH) model is then extended to account for these damage models as component behaviours of the 2-phase composite material. A finite element multi-scale simulation of a notched laminate shows that the intra-laminar failure modes observed by an in situ experiment reported in the literature are well captured by the damage variables related to the matrix and fibre bundle failure processes. Inter-laminar failure is also captured by an extrinsic cohesive law introduced between the plies.