Unidirectional Fiber-reinforced Plastic Laminates Research Articles

Bridging micro-to-macro scale damage in UD-FRP laminates under tensile loading

A unified numerical framework for progressive damage analysis of a unidirectional fiber reinforced plastic (UD-FRP) laminate has been developed by explicitly accounting for damage progression at the micro-level. At the micro-level, a three dimensional repeating unit cell (3D-RUC) comprised of polymer matrix with fibers and interfaces has been modeled allowing for plasticity based matrix damage, maximum stress based fiber failure, and a cohesive traction-separation criterion for interface failure. Coupling of macro- and micro- levels has been accomplished using non-linear homogenization. In other words, the homogenized stress–strain curve obtained at the micro-level is utilized to predict the constitutive behavior at the macro-level. Typical material characterization tests have been conducted to estimate constituent behavior. Predictions from the current analysis are found to match well with the response of UD-FRP plates of different fiber orientations with a central hole under tensile loading.