Progressive failure simulation of composite materials using the anisotropic phase field method

TL;DR

This paper presents a computational framework using an anisotropic phase field model to simulate failure in fiber-reinforced composites, analyzing interface properties, hole shapes, and energy release rates to improve material design.

Contribution

It introduces a novel anisotropic phase field simulation approach that incorporates interface strength, hole shape, and energy parameters for accurate failure prediction in composites.

Findings

Strong interfaces exhibit brittleness, weak interfaces show toughness.

Increased critical energy release rate reduces fracture toughness.

Hole shape and position significantly affect failure and load-bearing capacity.

Abstract

An effective computational framework of an anisotropic phase field model is used to explore the effects of interface properties, effective critical energy release rates and hole shapes on the failure process of fibre-reinforced composites in this paper. In this framework, the phase field method is solved under the background of the finite element method, and the influence of strong and weak interfaces on the failure strength of composite materials is studied. The results show that when the material fails, the strong interface shows brittleness, and the weak interface shows toughness, which can improve the failure strength of the material. At the same time, the effective critical energy release rate is introduced in the calculation, which reduces the fracture toughness of the material, makes the prediction results more consistent with the experimental results, and improves the accuracy of the results. The effect of hole shapes on the failure of the composites is also explored, and the crack propagation of different hole shapes is captured, which shows that the bearing capacity of a plate with a hole is not only related to the shape of the hole but also related to the location of the hole concentrated stress and the number of locations where the hole bears the load. The bearing capacity of the material can be improved by changing the shape of the hole. These results reveal the influence of different factors on the failure of composites and lay a foundation for the effective design of composites.