The use of composite materials in several sectors, such as aeronautics and automotive, has been gaining distinction in recent years. However, due to their high costs, as well as unique characteristics, consequences of their heterogeneity, they present challenging gaps to be studied. As a result, the finite element method has been used as a way to analyze composite materials subjected to the most distinctive situations. Therefore, this work aims to approach the modeling of composite materials, focusing on material properties, failure criteria, types of elements and main application sectors. From the modeling point of view, different levels of modeling—micro, meso and macro, are presented. Regarding properties, different mechanical characteristics, theories and constitutive relationships involved to model these materials are presented. The text also discusses the types of elements most commonly used to simulate composites, which are solids, peel, plate and cohesive, as well as the various failure criteria developed and used for the simulation of these materials. In addition, the present article lists the main industrial sectors in which composite material simulation is used, and their gains from it, including aeronautics, aerospace, automotive, naval, energy, civil, sports, manufacturing and even electronics.

Application of the Finite Element Method in the Analysis of Composite Materials: A Review

Multi-scale characterization and modelling of the transverse compression response of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced epoxy

Phase field predictions of microscopic fracture and R-curve behaviour of fibre-reinforced composites

Large-scale fiber bridging usually presents in the wake of the crack tip in multidirectional composite DCB laminates, resulting in a significant R-curve phenomenon on the fracture toughness. In order to consider the influence of the fiber bridging on the delamination behavior in FE modelling, a novel four-linear cohesive law is proposed in this study, which is physically established based on the realistic failure mechanism during the delamination process. The required parameters in this law can be determined by experiments, expect for the fracture toughness ratio, which is introduced to present the non-linear softening behavior of the bridging fibers in a simple way and make the cohesive law easy to be implemented in FEM. The numerical results predicted by the proposed law have good agreements with the experimental results for two kinds of multidirectional laminates, illustrating the applicability of the new four-linear cohesive law. The advantages of this new cohesive law are the less parameters required to be numerically determined and the simplicity for practical application than existing methods. In addition, the new cohesive law is physical-based rather than a direct superposition by two linear cohesive zone models, which is lack of physical basis.

A novel four-linear cohesive law for the delamination simulation in composite DCB laminates

Micromechanics based FEM study on the mechanical properties and damage of epoxy reinforced with graphene based nanoplatelets

The development of the latest generation of wide-body passenger aircraft has heralded a new era in the utilisation of carbon-fibre composite materials. One of the primary challenges facing future development programmes is the desire to reduce the extent of physical testing, required as part of the certification process, by adopting a ‘certification by simulation’ approach. A hierarchical bottom-up multiscale simulation scheme can be an efficient approach that takes advantage of the natural separation of length scales between different entities (fibre/matrix, ply, laminate and component) in composite structures. In this work, composites with various fibre/matrix and interlaminar interfacial properties were fabricated using an autoclave under curing pressures ranging from 0 to 0.8 MPa. The microstructure (mainly void content and spatial distribution) and the mechanical properties of the matrix and fibre/matrix interface were measured, the latter by means of nanoindentation tests in matrix pockets, and fibre push-in tests. In addition, the macroscopic interlaminar shear strength was determined by means of three-points bend tests on short beams. To understand the influence of interfacial properties on the intralaminar failure behaviour, a high-fidelity microscale computational model is presented to predict homogenized ply properties under shear loading. Predicted ply material parameters are then transferred to a mesoscale composite damage model to reveal the interaction between intralaminar and interlaminar damage behaviour of composite laminates.

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The role of interfacial properties on the intralaminar and interlaminar damage behaviour of unidirectional composite laminates: Experimental characterization and multiscale modelling

L. Zhan

Papers

The role of interfacial properties on the intralaminar and interlaminar damage behaviour of unidirectional composite laminates: Experimental characterization and multiscale modelling