Numerical modelling of progressive failure in carbon fiber reinforced plastic composites

Tomonaga Okabe (Tohoku Univ.)

Fibre-reinforced composites, especially fibre-reinforced plastic composites, are widely used in engineering products including aircraft. For example, parts produced from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites account for 50% of the total weight of a Boeing 787 aircraft. CFRP was also recently applied to the upper panel of laptop computers. The usage of CFRP in various types of engineering products will be expanded farther on in the future. The key question regarding CFRPs is the mechanism of their progressive damage. Generally, a CFRP includes fibres, a polymer matrix, and an interface. In engineering applications, lamination and filament winding structures are used. When a mechanical load is applied to composite structures, various types of damages occur. On the macroscopic scale, delamination, which can be considered as an interfacial crack between the composite laminates, is known to occur. On the microscopic scale, debonding in the interface between the fibres and the matrix, micro-cracks in the matrix, and breakage of the fibres have been observed. Thus, wide range of size scales should be considered for the purpose. In this presentation, previous studies on damage and mechanical modelling are reviewed based on my recent works conducted in conjunction with other researchers. Studies that utilized various size scales, ranging from macroscopic to microscopic, are introduced.