Multi-scale analysis of aligned ZnO nanowires reinforced hybrid composites under three-point bending

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper presents novel multi-scale modeling and failure analysis of hybrid carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites enhanced by zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires. Vertically aligned ZnO nanowires on CFRP plies create enhancement layers, leading to the increased interfacial properties in composites. A multi-scale model bridging from micro-scale to macro-scale investigates the enhanced interlaminar shear properties in the hybrid composite. At the micro-scale, the effective material properties of the enhancement layer are extracted by the homogenization of an appropriate representative volume element. At the mesoscale, the cohesive zone model is employed to investigate the adhesion bonding and the delamination between the plies. At the macro-scale, the progressive intralaminar failure analysis is developed to explore damage initiation and evolution in fiber and matrix utilizing the user subroutine to define material behavior (VUMAT). Finite element analysis of a three-dimensional hybrid composite short beam under three-point bending (3PB) load is performed to extract the damage behavior. Numerical results demonstrate that interlaminar shear strength of the hybrid CFRP composites is improved by 43% under 3PB load. The effect of diameter and length of ZnO nanowires on the shear strength of the hybrid laminated structure is discussed.