Finite Element Modeling Of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Composites Under Bi-axial Loading

Abstract

Composite materials are replacing metallic materials in the load-bearing structures in aerospace, automobile, energy sector, etc., due to their excellent specific mechanical properties in addition to higher corrosion resistance. Despite its development for half a century, precise prediction of the mechanical behavior of composites still faces many challenges mainly due to its complex degradation at different levels, which is termed as multi-scale damage. In the present thesis, the damage model was based on mesoscale which is a ply-level for uni-directional fiber reinforced polymer composites. Plane stress version of Hashin’s theory was employed for triggering the mesoscale damage. Firstly, composite coupons as per the ASTM standard were simulated and then the open hole tension specimens which are very well-suited for the analysis of damage initiation and progression were modeled. Finally, the bi-axial stress condition in Arcan was modeled in commercial FEM-based code ABAQUS to predict the bi-axial mechanical response.