Micromechanics-based phase field fracture modelling of CNT composites

TL;DR

This paper introduces a micromechanics-based phase field model for simulating crack initiation and growth in CNT composites, integrating homogenisation and inhomogeneous dispersion effects for accurate fracture prediction.

Contribution

It develops a novel combined micromechanics and phase field approach to model fracture in CNT composites, accounting for CNT dispersion and material heterogeneity.

Findings

Effective modeling of crack initiation and propagation in CNT composites.

Demonstrated capability through three case studies involving different fracture modes.

Quantitative assessment of micromechanical property effects on fracture behavior.

Abstract

We present a novel micromechanics-based phase field approach to model crack initiation and propagation in carbon nanotube (CNT) based composites. The constitutive mechanical and fracture properties of the nanocomposites are first estimated by a mean-field homogenisation approach. Inhomogeneous dispersion of CNTs is accounted for by means of equivalent inclusions representing agglomerated CNTs. Detailed parametric analyses are presented to assess the effect of the main micromechanical properties upon the fracture behaviour of CNT-based composites. The second step of the proposed approach incorporates the previously estimated constitutive properties into a phase field fracture model to simulate crack initiation and growth in CNT-based composites. The modelling capabilities of the framework presented is demonstrated through three paradigmatic case studies involving mode I and mixed mode fracture conditions.