Multi-scale computational analysis of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites under various loading conditions

Sun, Qingping; Meng, Zhaoxu; Zhou, Guowei; Lin, Shih-Po; Kang, Hongtae; Keten, Sinan; Guo, Haiding; Su, Xuming

doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2018.05.025

Multi-scale computational analysis of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites under various loading conditions

Journal Article · Thu May 03 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Composite Structures

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2018.05.025· OSTI ID:1504737

Sun, Qingping ^[1]; ^[2]; Zhou, Guowei ^[3]; Lin, Shih-Po ^[4]; Kang, Hongtae ^[5]; Keten, Sinan ^[2]; Guo, Haiding ^[6]; Su, Xuming ^[4]

Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (China); Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University
Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI (United States)
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI (United States)
Univ. of Michigan, Dearborn, MI (United States)
Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (China)

In this study, a multi-scale computational analysis based on representative volume element (RVE) modeling and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations is developed to investigate the microscopic failure mechanisms of unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. The average properties of the 200-nm thickness interphase region between fiber and matrix are characterized through MD simulations and an analytical gradient model. The results demonstrate that the interphase region has higher Young’s modulus and strength, compared to the bulk matrix. This stiffened interphase region influences the composite response significantly. Specifically, the traditional two-phase model with zero-thickness interface fails to capture the stress-strain behavior compared to the experimental data. However, by adding the interphase region to a modified RVE model, the accuracy of simulation results will be improved significantly. Furthermore, a coupled experimental-computational micromechanics approach is adopted to calibrate and validate the cohesive parameters of the interface. By including the cohesive interface, our modified RVE model accurately captures the failure strength of the composites. Finally, different failure mechanisms for specimens are investigated using our multi-scale computational framework. In conclusion, the results show that the failure modes of UD CFRP composites are very complex and multiple failure mechanisms co-exist depending on the loading conditions, agreeing well with our experimental analyses.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, MI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V)

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0006867

OSTI ID:: 1504737

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1582980

Journal Information:: Composite Structures, Journal Name: Composite Structures Journal Issue: C Vol. 196; ISSN 0263-8223

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (54)

Interfacial and Substrate Effects on Local Elastic Properties of Polymers Using Coupled Experiments and Modeling of Nanoindentation Watcharotone, Supinda; Wood, Charles D.; Friedrich, Robert Advanced Engineering Materials, Vol. 13, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/adem.201000277	journal	February 2011
Multiscale Modeling of Composite Materials: a Roadmap Towards Virtual Testing LLorca, J.; González, C.; Molina-Aldareguía, J. M. Advanced Materials, Vol. 23, Issue 44 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201101683	journal	October 2011
Fast Parallel Algorithms for Short-Range Molecular Dynamics Plimpton, Steve Journal of Computational Physics, Vol. 117, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1006/jcph.1995.1039	journal	March 1995
Crack band theory for fracture of concrete Bažant, Zdeněk P.; Oh, B. H. Matériaux et Constructions, Vol. 16, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02486267	journal	May 1983
Polymatic: a generalized simulated polymerization algorithm for amorphous polymers Abbott, Lauren J.; Hart, Kyle E.; Colina, Coray M. Theoretical Chemistry Accounts, Vol. 132, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00214-013-1334-z	journal	January 2013
The 10 ° off-axis tensile test: A critical approach Pierron, Fabrice; Vautrin, Alain Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 56, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/0266-3538(96)00004-8	journal	January 1996
Determination of the size of the representative volume element for random composites: statistical and numerical approach Kanit, T.; Forest, S.; Galliet, I. International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 40, Issue 13-14 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7683(03)00143-4	journal	June 2003
Failure behavior of an epoxy matrix under different kinds of static loading Fiedler, B.; Hojo, M.; Ochiai, S. Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 61, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0266-3538(01)00057-4	journal	August 2001
Failure analysis of FRP laminates by means of physically based phenomenological models Puck, A.; Schürmann, H. Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 62, Issue 12-13 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0266-3538(01)00208-1	journal	September 2002
Mixed-mode delamination fracture toughness of unidirectional glass/epoxy composites under fatigue loading Kenane, M.; Benzeggagh, M. L. Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 57, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0266-3538(97)00021-3	journal	January 1997
Load carrying characteristics of short fiber composites containing a heterogeneous interphase region Kiritsi, C. C.; Anifantis, N. K. Computational Materials Science, Vol. 20, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-0256(00)00129-4	journal	January 2001
Effects of environmental degradation on near-fiber nanomechanical properties of carbon fiber epoxy composites Zhao, Wei; Singh, Raman P.; Korach, Chad S. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol. 40, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2009.02.015	journal	May 2009
A micromechanical study on the effect of intra-ply properties on transverse shear fracture in fibre reinforced composites Vaughan, T. J.; McCarthy, C. T. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol. 42, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2011.05.004	journal	September 2011
Nano-analysis on the structure and chemical composition of the interphase region in carbon fiber composite Wu, Qing; Li, Min; Gu, Yizhuo Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol. 56 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2013.10.003	journal	January 2014
Micro-mechanical analysis of the effect of ply thickness on the transverse compressive strength of polymer composites Arteiro, A.; Catalanotti, G.; Melro, A. R. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol. 79 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2015.09.015	journal	December 2015
Computational micromechanics evaluation of the effect of fibre shape on the transverse strength of unidirectional composites: An approach to virtual materials design Herráez, M.; González, C.; Lopes, C. S. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol. 91 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.02.026	journal	December 2016
Computational micromechanics of the transverse and shear behavior of unidirectional fiber reinforced polymers including environmental effects Naya, F.; González, C.; Lopes, C. S. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, Vol. 92 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2016.06.018	journal	January 2017
Modeling the molecular structure of the carbon fiber/polymer interphase for multiscale analysis of composites Johnston, Joel P.; Koo, Bonsung; Subramanian, Nithya Composites Part B: Engineering, Vol. 111 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.12.008	journal	February 2017
Multiscale modeling of interphase in crosslinked epoxy nanocomposites Kim, Byungjo; Choi, Joonmyung; Yang, Seunghwa Composites Part B: Engineering, Vol. 120 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2017.03.059	journal	July 2017
Mechanical behavior of unidirectional fiber-reinforced polymers under transverse compression: Microscopic mechanisms and modeling González, Carlos; LLorca, Javier Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 67, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2007.02.001	journal	October 2007
Failure locus of fiber-reinforced composites under transverse compression and out-of-plane shear Totry, Essam; González, Carlos; LLorca, Javier Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 68, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2007.08.023	journal	March 2008
Evaluation of influence of interphase material parameters on effective material properties of three phase composites Kari, Sreedhar; Berger, Harald; Gabbert, Ulrich Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 68, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2007.09.009	journal	March 2008
Generation of random distribution of fibres in long-fibre reinforced composites Melro, A.; Camanho, P.; Pinho, S. Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 68, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2008.03.013	journal	July 2008
Prediction of the failure locus of C/PEEK composites under transverse compression and longitudinal shear through computational micromechanics Totry, Essam; González, Carlos; LLorca, Javier Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 68, Issue 15-16 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2008.07.011	journal	December 2008
Effect of fiber, matrix and interface properties on the in-plane shear deformation of carbon-fiber reinforced composites Totry, Essam; Molina-Aldareguía, Jon M.; González, Carlos Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 70, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2010.02.014	journal	June 2010
Micromechanical modelling of the transverse damage behaviour in fibre reinforced composites Vaughan, T. J.; McCarthy, C. T. Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 71, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2010.12.006	journal	February 2011
Microscopic failure mechanisms of fiber-reinforced polymer composites under transverse tension and compression Yang, Lei; Yan, Ying; Liu, Yujia Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 72, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2012.08.001	journal	October 2012
A numerical study of the influence of microvoids in the transverse mechanical response of unidirectional composites Ashouri Vajari, Danial; González, Carlos; Llorca, Javier Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 97 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2014.04.004	journal	June 2014
Computational micromechanics of fiber kinking in unidirectional FRP under different environmental conditions Naya, F.; Herráez, M.; Lopes, C. S. Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 144 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2017.03.014	journal	May 2017
Three-dimensional failure criteria for fiber-reinforced laminates Catalanotti, G.; Camanho, P. P.; Marques, A. T. Composite Structures, Vol. 95 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2012.07.016	journal	January 2013
Micro-mechanical analysis of the in situ effect in polymer composite laminates Arteiro, A.; Catalanotti, G.; Melro, A. R. Composite Structures, Vol. 116 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2014.06.014	journal	September 2014
A micromechanical study of porous composites under longitudinal shear and transverse normal loading Ashouri Vajari, Danial Composite Structures, Vol. 125 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2015.02.026	journal	July 2015
High-fidelity micro-scale modeling of the thermo-visco-plastic behavior of carbon fiber polymer matrix composites Bai, Xiaoming; Bessa, Miguel A.; Melro, António R. Composite Structures, Vol. 134 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2015.08.047	journal	December 2015
Simulation of crack propagation/deflection in ceramic matrix continuous fiber reinforced composites with weak interphase via the extended finite element method Braginsky, M.; Przybyla, C. P. Composite Structures, Vol. 136 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2015.10.038	journal	February 2016
A numerical micro-mechanical study of the influence of fiber–matrix interphase failure on carbon/epoxy material properties Danzi, F.; Fanteria, D.; Panettieri, E. Composite Structures, Vol. 159 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2016.09.095	journal	January 2017
Effect of fibre shape and interphase on the anisotropic viscoelastic response of fibre composites Pathan, M. V.; Tagarielli, V. L.; Patsias, S. Composite Structures, Vol. 162 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2016.11.046	journal	February 2017
Vibration-based identification of interphase properties in long fiber reinforced composites Wang, Kaifeng; Okuno, Kiichi; Banu, Mihaela Composite Structures, Vol. 174 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruct.2017.04.018	journal	August 2017
Failure surface of epoxy-modified fiber-reinforced composites under transverse tension and out-of-plane shear Canal, Luis P.; Segurado, Javier; LLorca, Javier International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 46, Issue 11-12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2009.01.014	journal	June 2009
Micromechanical analysis of polymer composites reinforced by unidirectional fibres: Part II – Micromechanical analyses Melro, A. R.; Camanho, P. P.; Andrade Pires, F. M. International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 50, Issue 11-12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2013.02.007	journal	June 2013
Micromechanical analysis of polymer composites reinforced by unidirectional fibres: Part I – Constitutive modelling Melro, A. R.; Camanho, P. P.; Andrade Pires, F. M. International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 50, Issue 11-12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2013.02.009	journal	June 2013
Micromechanics of stress transfer through the interphase in fiber-reinforced composites Upadhyaya, Priyank; Kumar, S. Mechanics of Materials, Vol. 89 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechmat.2015.06.012	journal	October 2015
Determination of interface properties from experiments on the fragmentation process in single-fiber composites Nishikawa, M.; Okabe, T.; Takeda, N. Materials Science and Engineering: A, Vol. 480, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2007.07.067	journal	May 2008
Structural composites for multifunctional applications: Current challenges and future trends González, C.; Vilatela, J. J.; Molina-Aldareguía, J. M. Progress in Materials Science, Vol. 89 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2017.04.005	journal	August 2017
Molecular dynamics predictions of thermal and mechanical properties of thermoset polymer EPON862/DETDA Li, Chunyu; Strachan, Alejandro Polymer, Vol. 52, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2011.04.041	journal	June 2011
A Multiscale Model for the Quasi-Static Thermo-Plastic Behavior of Highly Cross-Linked Glassy Polymers Vu-Bac, N.; Bessa, M. A.; Rabczuk, Timon Macromolecules, Vol. 48, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.5b01236	journal	September 2015
Understanding the Interfacial Mechanical Response of Nanoscale Polymer Thin Films via Nanoindentation Xia, Wenjie; Song, Jake; Hsu, David D. Macromolecules, Vol. 49, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.6b00121	journal	May 2016
Predicting the Macroscopic Fracture Energy of Epoxy Resins from Atomistic Molecular Simulations Meng, Zhaoxu; Bessa, Miguel A.; Xia, Wenjie Macromolecules, Vol. 49, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.6b01508	journal	December 2016
A Coarse-Grained Model for Epoxy Molding Compound Yang, Shaorui; Cui, Zhiwei; Qu, Jianmin The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol. 118, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp409297t	journal	January 2014
Multiscale Simulation Study on the Curing Reaction and the Network Structure in a Typical Epoxy System Liu, Hong; Li, Min; Lu, Zhong-Yuan Macromolecules, Vol. 44, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1021/ma201390k	journal	November 2011
Designing multi-layer graphene-based assemblies for enhanced toughness in nacre-inspired nanocomposites Xia, Wenjie; Song, Jake; Meng, Zhaoxu Molecular Systems Design & Engineering, Vol. 1, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6ME00022C	journal	January 2016
The glass transition in cured epoxy thermosets: A comparative molecular dynamics study in coarse-grained and atomistic resolution Langeloth, Michael; Sugii, Taisuke; Böhm, Michael C. The Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 143, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4937627	journal	December 2015
Interphase Effect on Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites Kumar, Pramod; Chandra, Rakesh; Singh, S. P. Composite Interfaces, Vol. 17, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1163/092764409X12580201111502	journal	January 2010
Failure Criteria for FRP Laminates Davila, Carlos G.; Camanho, Pedro P.; Rose, Cheryl A. Journal of Composite Materials, Vol. 39, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1177/0021998305046452	journal	February 2005
Failure Criteria for FRP Laminates in Plane Stress Davila, Carlos; Jaunky, Navin; Goswami, Sanjib 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2003-1991	conference	June 2012

Cited By (3)

The Effect of Temperature and Strain Rate on the Interfacial Behavior of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites: A Molecular Dynamics Study Zhang, Muhan; Jiang, Bingyan; Chen, Chao Polymers, Vol. 11, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11111766	journal	October 2019
Multiscale Finite Element Analysis of Linear Magnetic Actuators Using Asymptotic Homogenization Method Lee, Jaewook Multiscale Science and Engineering, Vol. 1, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s42493-018-00013-x	journal	January 2019
Numerical simulation for strain rate and temperature dependence of transverse tensile failure of unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced plastics Sato, Mio; Shirai, Sakie; Koyanagi, Jun Journal of Composite Materials, Vol. 53, Issue 28-30 https://doi.org/10.1177/0021998319857111	journal	May 2019

Similar Records

An integrated computational materials engineering framework to analyze the failure behaviors of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites for lightweight vehicle applications

Journal Article · Tue Nov 17 23:00:00 EST 2020 · Composites Science and Technology · OSTI ID:1848460

A micro-scale cutting model for UD CFRP composites with thermo-mechanical coupling

Journal Article · Sat Sep 23 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Composites Science and Technology · OSTI ID:1431023

Predictive multiscale modeling for Unidirectional Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers

Journal Article · Tue Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 2019 · Composites Science and Technology · OSTI ID:1799256

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
42 ENGINEERING
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites
Failure mechanism
Interphase
Molecular dynamics
Multi-scale analysis
Representative volume element

Multi-scale computational analysis of unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites under various loading conditions

Citation Formats

References (54)

Cited By (3)

Similar Records

Related Subjects