Composite Damage Evaluation Tool (MSC P9036)

Materials Sciences Corporation has developed a structural analysis process that involves including crack-type damage at the micromechanics level using a representative volume element (RVE) of a composite and explicitly modeled cracks. The system interrogates the RVE for all possible crack states and records the results. During a separate structural level analysis, this data can be used to determine the actual crack evolution under an arbitrary strain state which is then related to a stiffness change. The method is rigorous, and can be shown to be path independent. MSC has developed a series of software tools for using this methodology. The Phase II program will mature the system, and investigate using the methodology on practical problems related to structural damage evaluation and repair. The Phase II program will include development of a library of RVE models, material databases, validation data, and best-practice guides. BENEFIT: The proposed system can be used to evaluate structural degradation with various forms of distributed damage. It is intended to remove much of the conservatism inherent in current design practice by quantifying the effects of damage, with the possibility of safely allowing for localized damage. Target users will be anyone designing composite components. The emphases in the Phase II program will be on damage evaluation and repair.