Novel Method to Utilize Multi-scale Physics-based Technique for Crack Path Determination in Fiber-reinforced Composites

Global Engineering and Materials, Inc. (GEM) along with its team member Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) propose to develop a multiscale and generalized discrete crack damage prediction toolkit for fiber-reinforced composites subjected to static and cyclic loading. GEM will draw on its extensive experience in composite progressive damage analysis and leverage its current NAVAIR sponsored composite bolted and bonded joints programs and data collected from NGC under their Air Force sponsored Tech Scout 2 program for module enhancement and validation under this Phase I program. In order to capture a curvilinear matrix crack path and its interaction with an intersected delamination crack, a slanted phantom-paired X-FEM approach coupled with a segmented cohesive model will be developed for the kinematic description of crack network without remeshing. The co-existence of both discrete cracking and diffuse damage has motivated us to develop a multi-scale approach based on an N-phase cylinder micromechanics model for extraction of static and fatigue damage accumulation at an integration point of a discrete cracked element. To bridge the gap between stress-life driven crack initiation and Paris type description for crack propagation, a unified fatigue damage prediction model will be implemented to capture the delamination initiation and propagation under fatigue loading.