This paper presents a 3D simulation of damages and cracks growth in composite material using Discrete Element Method (DEM). Fiber/matrix debonding and ply to ply delamination, cracks matrix, rupture of fibers are addressed. Matrix and fiber are supposed to be brittle materials and follow a linear fracture model. Cohesive contact laws are implemented to model interfaces behavior for both debonding (fiber/ matrix) and delamination (ply/ply). Piecewise linear elastic laws usually used in cohesive zone models are retained in this work. A Double Cantiliver Beam (DCB) test is first experimented using the present DEM with Cohesive Contact Models (CCM). Then, based on De Borst's works [1], a single fiber composite under transverse traction is modeled to study debonding and matrix cracks propagations depending on the matrix and the fiber/matrix interface strengths ratio. A bi-disperse medium for matrix and fiber is specifically elaborated to reduce the discrete elements number. The analysis is extended to a so-called multi-fibers composite specimen, also called Statistical Elementary Volume (SEV), made of several fibers embedded in the matrix. Finally, the results are compared with DeBorst's works and qualitatively discussed.
We propose a discrete element model for brittle rupture. The material consists of a bidimensional set of closed-packed particles in contact. We explore the isotropic elastic behavior of this regular structure to derive a rupture criterion compatible to continuum mechanics. We introduce a classical criterion of mixed mode crack propagation based on the value of the stress intensity factors, obtained by the analysis of two adjacent contacts near a crack tip. Hence, the toughness becomes a direct parameter of the model, without any calibration procedure. We verify the consistency of the formulation as well as its convergence by comparison with theoretical solutions of tensile cracks, a pre-cracked beam, and an inclined crack under biaxial stress.
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