Abstract
Long fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) are used as the primary component of airplanes. Therefore the increase of the strength and toughness of FRP have been hoped. In many studies about FRP, the macro-mechanics approach without considering inhomogeneities of FRP has been applied. However, the effects of meso-scale factor, for example, fiber, matrix and interface, on the stress field around crack tips or fracture strength cannot be considered. In this study, the matrix stress and fracture mechanics parameters in FRP were analyzed from the viewpoint of the three-dimensional meso-mechanics. FRP model based on this mechanics is modeled as discrete models composed of fiber and matrix. As a result, the average energy release rate of inhomogeneous FRP for long cracks was same as that of homogeneous FRP. For very long cracks in comparison with fiber diameter, the matrix stress of IFRP model could be separated into four regions (Region I, Region II, Region III (IIIa, IIIb)) following the crack tip. For short cracks, the Region IIIa vanished from the matrix stress distribution.
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