Computational micromechanical modelling of the material removal process in a carbon fibre composite under single-erodent particle impact

Abstract

A multiscale model is developed to understand the material removal process in a unidirectional carbon fibre epoxy composite impacted by a single-erodent particle. The embedded cell approach is used to model the carbon fibre and epoxy at a microscale. The micromodel is embedded centrally in the macroscale lamina of the composite plate. The carbon fibre is considered to be elastic with orthotropic strain limits as the failure criteria. The epoxy matrix is modelled as an elastic--plastic material with multilinear isotropic hardening. The maximum equivalent plastic strain limit is used as the matrix material failure limit. Using this embedded micromechanics model, the role of matrix and the fibre in developing the composite material erosion behaviour has been clearly elucidated. The results from the simulation indicate the change in the matrix erosion behaviour as a function of the fibre volume fraction. For the current thermoset matrix, material erosion response changes from brittle behaviour to ductile behaviour with an increase in fibre volume fraction. The current study has been able to highlight the individual role of matrix and the fibre in developing the semi-ductile erosion response peculiar to a fibre-reinforced composite material.