Experimental and computational analysis of the erosion behaviour of unidirectional glass fiber epoxy composites

Abstract

A 3D finite element model to understand the erosion behaviour of unidirectional glass fiber/epoxy (GF/EP) composites by the impact of Al2O3 erodent particle is presented. The erodent particles are impacting at a constant velocity of 100 m/s. A multi-scale modelling technique is presented and the results are compared with experiments. The multiscale approach involves a heterogeneous microscale model containing the information of fibers and matrix and is centrally embedded in an equivalent homogeneous macroscale surrounding part. The multiscale model captures the plastic deformation and localized bending deformation in the fibers and elucidates the role of both matrix and fiber in governing the total erosion behaviour of the composite. The results from the multiscale model are in good agreement with the experimental results in terms of the mechanisms involved and the erosion behaviour of the composite. The erodent particle shape effect was also studied. The point of contact of the particle depends on the shape of the particle. The erodent particle shape was found to play an important role in the erosion process. The peak value of erosion depends on the point of contact of the erodent particle and shifts to a shallow angle as the point of contact decreases.