Prediction of biaxial failure envelopes for composite laminates based on Generalized Method of Cells

Abstract

Macro/micromulti-scale analysis based on the efficient implementation of the Generalized Method of Cells coupled with classical lamination theory was conducted to predict failure of composite laminates, applying failure criteria at the constituent level, including fiber, matrix and interface. Representative unit cells with different fiber arrays were constructed in order to study the effect of reinforcement architecture and failure criteria on strength prediction of composite laminates. In order to compare the micromechanics model’s accuracy with commonly-used macroscopic failure theories, the experimental data obtained from the Worldwide Failure Exercise (WWFE) was utilized, and a quantitative assessment method for failure envelopes was developed to evaluate the model’s performance. Finally, the types of representative unit cell architectures and failure theories which are applicable for different layups were identified. The results indicate that the predictive performance of the employed micromechanics-based model is closest to the three leading macroscopic failure criteria of Puck, Cuntze and Tsai–Wu, and better than all other microscopic-based failure criteria (Chamis, Mayes, Huang), employed in the WWFE study.