The aim of this study is to develop an appropriate modeling methodology for the simulation of intralaminar damage in laminated composites under complex loadings. The intralaminar damages are modeled by stiffness reduction controlled by thermodynamic forces as defined in continuum damage mechanics model proposed by Ladevèze. The original method neglected transverse stress in elementary plies during the tensile tests of [45/?45]mS laminates, resulting in variations of the identified damage parameters of Ladevèze model. This study compared the identified damage parameters considering transverse stress effects with those based on the original method. The effect of transverse stress in the identification process on the damage modeling is discussed, and it is found that one of damage coupling parameters and the damage master curves significantly depend on consideration of transverse stress effects. Finally, it is demonstrated that experimental stiffness degradation is well simulated by the prediction using the identified parameters considering transverse stress effects.
Laminated composites are widely used in aerospace and automotive application because of its high specific stiffness and strength. These light-weight characteristics motivated us to apply the composites to their primary structures. Generally, composites exhibit significant anisotropic mechanical behavior as well as complex damage accumulation process (fiber breakage, fiber/matrix interfacial debonding, microcracks, delaminations, etc.) compared to traditional isotropic metal/polymer materials [
Continuous carbon fiber laminated composites are expected to be good candidates for primary aerospace/automobile structures. Composites consist of reinforced fibers and polymer matrix. Multiscale modeling which can connect microstructures (fibers and matrix, fiber architectures etc.) to overall structures has been actively investigated, and computational cost and complex programs prevent the designers and the engineers from using the precise modelling. Mesoscale modeling (i.e. ply-level homogeneous modeling) using continuum damage mechanics is a cost-efficient and tractable way to simulate complex damage processes in laminated composites for structural design [
Regarding the continuum damage mechanics of laminated composites, Ladevèze and Le Dantec [
The following sections describe the summary of Ladevèze model and the original experimental identification process of damage parameters, followed by the modified identification process proposed in this study. Experiments for the parameter identification are explained, and the parameters obtained by the original and modified method are presented with discussions on the effect of transverse stress in the identification process on the damage modeling.
Basis of the Ladevèze theory is the strain energy function of a damaged ply in a two dimensional formulation, shown in Equation (1):
In this equation, damage parameters, dij, are introduced to relate the elastic modulus to the damage state.
In the continuum damage mechanics model, thermodynamic forces, Yij, that drive the damage accumulation can be derived from the partial derivative of strain energy with respect to dij.
shear modulus reduction. Thus, the transverse and shear components of thermodynamic force and damage parameters should be coupled. The following coupling parameters (b2 and b3) are defined to account for this coupling effect:
Y is referred to as an equivalent thermodynamic force. The undamaged elastic properties and the damage curves (d11-Y11, and d12-Y, d22-Y) are identified from the tensile tests of the laminated composites, as explained in the next section. In addition, nonlinear elastic parameters in the fiber direction and plastic parameters are also to be determined [
Ladevèze and Le Dantec [
In the case of [0/90]mS laminates in unidirectional tension, local stress and strain of 0-degree ply can be expressed in terms of overall stress and strain by
For the angle-ply laminates, [θ/−θ]mS under uniaxial tensile loading, local transverse and shear stresses/strains in each ply is calculated by
where the following equations hold:
Specifically, in the case of [45/−45]mS laminates, the following simple equations are derived for shear stress-strain relationship:
To identify the damage evolution curves, σ12-γ12 curves of [45/−45]mS laminates and σ12-γ12 and σ22-ε22 curves of [67.5/−67.5]mS laminates using Equations (8)-(11). Note that Equations (8)-(10) are affected by variations of elastic properties owing to intralaminar damage accumulation. We neglect the damage-induced variations and Equations (8)-(9) are used for identification of damage parameters as suggested by Ladevèze and Le Dantec [
Cyclic tensile tests provide the relationship between the damage parameters (i.e. stiffness slope reduction) and the corresponding thermodynamic forces at maximum stress in the cycles using Equation (3). Three damage curves, d12-Y12 from [45/−45]mS laminates, d12-Y12 from [67.5/−67.5]mS laminates, and d22-Y22 from [67.5/−67.5]mS laminates, are obtained from the experimental curves. The coupling parameters, b2 and b3, are determined such that three curves (dij-Y curves) are collapsed into a single master curve considering Equations (4) and (5). The fitted damage curve (i.e. d12 = f(Y)) and coupling parameters are used for damage simulation in the Ladevèze model.
In the previous section, transverse stress and strain in each ply of [45/−45]ms laminates are neglected. Actually, when θ is equal to 45degree, Equation (8) is expressed as
Thus, in the case of laminates made of carbon fiber-reinforced unidirectional plies, σ22 and ε22 can be approximately regarded as zero. However, transverse stress and strain exist, and these components are possibly taken into account in some cases (e.g. glass fiber-reinforced plastics). The present study investigates this effect on the identification of damage parameters. In the previous method (denoted as Case-A), three damage curves (d12-Y12 from [45/−45]mS laminates, d12-Y12 from [67.5/−67.5]mS laminates, and d22-Y22 from [67.5/−67.5]mS) are utilized for the identification. If we consider Equation (12), Y22 is also taken into account for [45/−45]mS laminates in uniaxial tension, and one additional damage curve (i.e. d22-Y22 from [45/−45]mS) is obtained. We need to consider the modified processes to determine the coupling parameters, b2 and b3, by finding a single master curve based on damage curves (dij-Y curves), which are discussed in the following sections.
The present study focuses on the damage curves. [0/90]2S, [45/−45]2S, and [67.5/67.5]2S specimens were prepared using unidirectional glass fibers and epoxy matrix. The specimens are 120 mm in length (excluding the clamp area), 25 mm in width, and about 4 mm in thickness. Back-to-back strain gauges were attached in the longitudinal and transverse directions to the specimens to acquire εL and εT. First, quasi-static monotonic tensile tests of the three laminates were conducted to obtain the elastic parameters and the suggested load levels for the cyclic tension tests. Then, cyclic tension tests of [45/−45]2S, and [67.5/67.5]2S specimens were carried out to derive the damage parameters. All tensile tests were performed in reference to JIS K7161.
Typical stress-strain curves obtained by quasi-static monotonic tensile tests of three laminates are presented in
curve obtained from [45/−45]2S laminates is presented in
As explained in Section 2.1, transverse and shear damage curves are coupled and expressed by equivalent thermodynamic forces with use of coupling parameters defined in Equations (4) and (5). The coupling parameters, b2 and b3, are determined such that three curves (d12-Y from [45/−45]2S laminates, d12-Y from [67.5/−67.5]2S laminates, and d22-Y from [67.5/−67.5]2S) are collapsed into a single master curve based on the least-square method. Note that d22 and Y22 are neglected for the case of [45/−45]2S laminates in the original method [
If we consider Equation (12), Y22 is also taken into account for [45/−45]2S laminates in uniaxial tension. To investigate the transverse stress effects of [45/−45]2S laminates, the following two methods are introduced in the present study. The Case-B includes Y22 when the d12-Y curve is obtained from [45/−45]2S laminates, and coupling parameters are determined based on the three damage curves (d12-Y from [45/−45]2S laminates, d12-Y from [67.5/−67.5]2S laminates, and d22-Y from [67.5/−67.5]2S). The Case-C takes d22 and Y22 from [45/−45]2S laminates into account, and four damage curves (d12-Y from [45/−45]2S laminates, d22-Y from [45/−45]2S, d12-Y from [67.5/−67.5]2S laminates, and d22-Y from [67.5/−67.5]2S) are utilized to identify the coupling parameters and damage master curve.
The damage master curves (d22(=b3d12)-Y) obtained by three methods are presented in
v12 | |||
---|---|---|---|
24.35 | 8.16 | 0.328 | 3.58 |
Identification method | [45/−45]2S | [67.5/−67.5]2S | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
d12-Y | d22-Y | d12-Y | d22-Y | |
Case-A (traditional method) | (Y = Y12) | N/A | ü | ü |
Case-B | (Y = b2Y22+ Y12) | N/A | ü | ü |
Case-C | (Y = b2Y22+ Y12) | ü | ü | ü |
three cases, and expressed as a function of Y, as seen in
Finally, the degradation of longitudinal stiffness (i.e. apparent modulus in loading direction, EL) of [45/−45]2S laminates under uniaxial tensile loading is predicted using the identified damage parameters. Stiffness degradation is plotted as a function of applied stress in
This study focused on the continuum damage mechanics model proposed by Ladevèze, and the effect of transverse stress on the identification of damage parameters was discussed. The original identification process in Ladevèze model neglected transverse stress in elementary plies during the tensile tests of
Identification method | b2 (Y = b2Y22 + Y12) | b3 (d22 = b3d12) | Equation of damage curve |
---|---|---|---|
Case-A (traditional method) | 1.14 | 0.97 | |
Case-B | 2.17 | 1.01 | |
Case-C | 4.54 | 0.96 |
[45/−45]mS laminates, resulting in difference in the identified damage parameters. This study compared the identified damage parameters considering transverse stress effects with those based on the original method. The effect of transverse stress in the identification process on the damage modeling was discussed, and it was found that consideration of transverse stress effects significantly affects one of damage coupling parameters and the damage master curves. Finally, it is demonstrated that experimental stiffness degradation is well simulated by the prediction using the identified parameters considering transverse stress effects.