Tensile properties of a stochastic prepreg platelet molded composite

Abstract

The stochastic prepreg platelet molded composite (PPMC) occurs when the orientation and arrangement disorder of platelets are determined by the uncontrolled molding conditions. The understanding of composite structure-property relationship is essential for the engineering applications of PPMCs. Computational analysis of the structure-property relationship in a PPMC with stochastic meso-scale morphology is herein performed under uniaxial tension conditions. The virtual distributions of tensile properties are obtained from the in-silico tensile tests based on the progressive failure analysis in the full-sized stochastically generated PPMC coupons. The developed analysis allows investigation of how the PPMC meso-structure details, such as platelet geometry and system morphology, define the variability in PPMC effective tensile properties.