TY - JOUR
T1 - Matrix cracks around fibre breaks and their effect on stress redistribution and failure development in unidirectional composites
AU - Swolfs, Yentl
AU - McMeeking, Robert M.
AU - Verpoest, Ignaas
AU - Gorbatikh, Larissa
N1 - Date of Acceptance: 03/01/2015
Acknowledgements
The work leading to this publication has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under the topic NMP-2009-2.5-1, as part of the project HIVOCOMP (Grant Agreement No. 246389). The authors thank the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT) for a PhD. grant and FWO Flanders for a travel grant to Y. Swolfs. The authors also thank A.R. Melro and P. Camanho for the permission to use their random fibre packing generator. I. Verpoest holds the Toray Chair in Composite Materials at KU Leuven. We acknowledge support from the UCSB Center for Scientific Computing at CNSI, the UCSB MRL: an NSF MRSEC (DMR-1121053) and NSF Grant CNS-0960316.
PY - 2015/2/25
Y1 - 2015/2/25
N2 - Despite the crucial significance of failure prediction in composites, such an objective remains challenging, even in unidirectional (UD) systems. A strength model for UD composites was used that has great versatility in handling various matrix and fibre behaviours. This model includes a simplified superposition principle that was found to be reliable in predicting stress concentration factors irrespective of the presence of matrix cracks. The model revealed the negligible influence of matrix cracks on stress concentrations, ineffective length, cluster development and failure strain. The presence of matrix cracks can therefore be safely neglected in models for UD composites. This information is important for experimental validations and for advancing the state of the art in strength models for UD composites.
AB - Despite the crucial significance of failure prediction in composites, such an objective remains challenging, even in unidirectional (UD) systems. A strength model for UD composites was used that has great versatility in handling various matrix and fibre behaviours. This model includes a simplified superposition principle that was found to be reliable in predicting stress concentration factors irrespective of the presence of matrix cracks. The model revealed the negligible influence of matrix cracks on stress concentrations, ineffective length, cluster development and failure strain. The presence of matrix cracks can therefore be safely neglected in models for UD composites. This information is important for experimental validations and for advancing the state of the art in strength models for UD composites.
KW - A. Polymer-matrix composites (PMCs)
KW - B. Matrix cracking
KW - C. Probabilistic methods
KW - C. Stress concentrations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84922496189&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.compscitech.2015.01.002
DO - 10.1016/j.compscitech.2015.01.002
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84922496189
VL - 108
SP - 16
EP - 22
JO - Composites Science and Technology
JF - Composites Science and Technology
SN - 0266-3538
ER -