Mixed-mode cohesive zone modeling and damage prediction of irregular-shaped interfaces in wood–plastic composites

Abstract

Debonding is the dominant fracture mechanism in wood–plastic composites, and the direction of wood fibrils significantly affects the normal and tangential wood–plastic interfacial properties. This study was aimed at simulation of the mixed-mode damage initiation and growth in wood–plastic interfaces using the cohesive zone model. The wood–plastic interfacial properties in longitudinal and transverse directions were determined. The opening and sliding displacements across the wood–plastic interfaces were measured by means of digital image correlation techniques, and the force-displacement diagrams were obtained from the experimental data. The Nelder–Mead algorithm was employed to identify the wood–plastic cohesive parameters through optimization of the force-displacement results of the numerical simulation and experimental data. Accordingly, the obtained cohesive parameters were implemented in the finite element (FE) models for damage prediction of the irregular-shaped particles in wood–plastic specimens. Very good agreements were found between the FE simulations and the observed fracture patterns .

Keywords:

• wood–plastic composite (WPC)
• debonding
• finite element analysis (FEA)
• cohesive zone model (CZM)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.