A tensorial based progressive damage model for fiber reinforced polymers

Abstract Progressive damage simulation is of major importance for predicting the damage behavior of composite laminates. This work faces the challenge to apply a progressive damage law for oblique fracture planes. Based on Puck’s or Camanho’s failure condition the damage initiation point and the fracture plane are determined. The presented damage evolution techniques for degradation of the elasticity tensor and their deficiencies are introduced. A new degradation approach based on an eighth order damage tensor is derived in this work. For efficient application in a finite element simulation a mapping of the fourth order material tensor to the fracture plane coordinates is conducted. The degradation is applied in the fracture plane system. Improved numerical stability and physically plausible behavior can be achieved by this approach. Both is demonstrated by simulation of a composite cube under out-of-plane compression load and a low velocity impact simulation. For evaluation and validation, the achieved results are compared with experimental data.