A Micro—Macro Approach to Modeling Progressive Damage in Composite Structures

Modeling progressive damage in composite materials and structures poses considerable challenges because damage is, in general, complex and involves multiple modes such as delamination, transverse cracking, fiber breakage, fiber pullout, etc. Clearly, damage in composites can be investigated at different length scales, ranging from the micromechanical to the macromechanical specimen and structural scales. In this article, a simple but novel finite-element-based method for modeling progressive damage in fiber-reinforced composites is presented. The element-failure method (EFM) is based on the simple idea that the nodal forces of an element of a damaged composite material can be modified to reflect the general state of damage and loading. This has an advantage over the usual material property degradation approaches, i.e., because the stiffness matrix of the element is not changed, computational convergence is theoretically guaranteed, resulting in a robust modeling tool. The EFM, when employed with suitable micromechanics-based failure criteria, may be a practical method for mapping damage initiation and propagation in composite structures. In this article, we present a micromechanical analysis for a new failure criterion called the strain invariant failure theory and the application of the EFM in the modeling of open-hole tension specimens. The micromechanical analysis yields a set of amplification factors, which are used to establish a set of micromechanically enhanced strain invariants for the failure criterion. The effects of material properties and volume fraction on the amplification factors are discussed.