Experimental characterization and micro-modeling of transverse tension behavior for unidirectional glass fibre-reinforced composite

Abstract

The mechanical behaviour of unidirectional fibre-reinforced polymer composites under transverse tension was studied using micromechanical computation and macroscopic experimentation. The representative volume element (RVE) of a composite with random fibre distribution was built by the proposed algorithm, which can effectively solve the jamming-limit problems for the hard-core-based model. The progressive damage process of the interface and matrix was simulated using the cohesive zone model and the extended Drucker–Prager model. The solutions of the mechanical loading case and the thermal mechanics loading case were compared to illustrate the effect of thermal residual stress. According to parametric studies, the failure models were mainly divided into two categories: interface-dominated and matrix-dominated damage, which rely on the interface strength, interface fracture energy, and matrix plastic deformation.