Influence of Fiber Distribution and Interfacial Strength on Transverse Compressive Strength of Unidirectional Composites

The representative volume element(RVE) of the computational micromechanics is established with random fiber distribution being generated by random sequential expansion algorithm. The plasticity of matrix and interfacial decohesion are simulated by using Drucker-Prager model and cohesive zone model respectively. The effects of the random fiber distribution and interfacial strength on the transverse compressive strength of unidirectional composites are analyzed. The results show that the random fiber distribution is a factor to cause the instability of the transverse compressive strength. Meanwhile, the matrix plastic shear damage and non interfacial damage is dominated in compression failure. Therefore, the RVE model without interface element adopted can clearly predict the compressive strength and the damage process of unidirectional composites, which contributes to simplify the modeling without considering the value of interfacial parameters.