Modeling of crack diffusion in composite materials

Abstract

Our aim is to investigate the crack diffusion created at single region of composite materials by using the fiber bundle model. So, we have applied an external single crack in one fiber of the composite material, and we then continue to increase this load at a very slow rate until the considered fiber breaks and its load is redistributed to its neighboring intact ones. This breaking and redistribution dynamics repeat itself and this process ensures an advancing interfacial fracture and the area of the damaged region increases with time until a final crack of material. Our calculations are done in the context of the local load-sharing rule. The results show that the damaged region area increases with time by following the Lifshitz-Slyozof law with an exponent growth x=2. This permits us to deduce the behavior of the crack diffusion with the applied load. The corresponding results of the life time materials exhibit an exponential decreasing with the applied load and a linear decreasing with temperature.