The effects of plasticity mechanisms on micromechanics of composites with fiber waviness defects under compression

Abstract

Micromechanics simulations of fiber-reinforced polymer-matrix composites with waviness defects are conducted to investigate the effect of constitutive model selection on the nucleation, evolution, and interaction of damage modes under in-plane compression. A 2D finite element model with fibers, matrix and fiber-matrix interfaces is used, considering damage modes at the constituent level (i.e., fiber-matrix interface damage, matrix plasticity, void nucleation and growth). Results show that the pressure-dependency of the polymer matrix is key for accurate predictions of strain localization in the fiber kinking mode and fiber-matrix interface crack behavior and extent at regions of waviness imperfections.

Keywords:

• Micromechanics
• composites
• polymer matrix
• elasto-plastic models
• fiber kinking
• strain localization

Acknowledgements

P. Díaz-Montiel thanks Dr. Shabnam Semnani (University of California San Diego) and Dr. Marta Miletic (San Diego State University) for the insightful discussions.

Disclosure statement

The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest related to this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by San Diego State University through the University Graduate Fellowship to author P. Díaz-Montiel.