Damage progress simulation in unidirectional composites by extended finite element method (XFEM)

Abstract

Damage initiation and propagation in unidirectional glass fibre reinforced epoxy matrix composites under tension load were simulated in this study. Cell models with either single fibre or multiple fibres were modelled by extended finite element method (XFEM). The damage progress in the cells was investigated and then the nominal stress-strain curves as well as stress distributions in the fibre and matrix were obtained. Results presented here indicate that the extended finite element method is an effective modelling technique to study the initiation and propagation of a crack along an arbitrary, mesh-independent, solution-dependent path.