TY - JOUR
T1 - Modeling of dynamic mode I crack growth in glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites
T2 - fracture energy and failure mechanism
AU - Liu, Y.
AU - van der Meer, F. P.
AU - Sluys, L. J.
AU - Ke, L.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The mode-I dynamic fracture energy and failure mechanisms of glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites are investigated with an embedded cell model of the single-edge-notched-tension (SENT) geometry. Under an applied dynamic loading, a crack may propagate in the embedded microstructure, accompanied by the development of a fracture process zone in which fiber/matrix debonding, matrix cracking and ductile matrix tearing are observed. Reaching a maximum nominal strain rate of 250/s, a series of SENT tests are performed for different loading velocities and specimen sizes while the dynamic energy release rate is evaluated using the dynamic version of the J-integral. The influence and interaction of loading rate, time-dependent material nonlinearity, structural inertia and matrix ligament bridging on the fracture toughness and failure mechanisms of composites are evaluated. It is found that with the given material parameters and studied loading rate range, the failure type is brittle with many microcracks but limited plasticity in the fracture process zone and a trend of increasing brittleness for larger strain rates is observed. The inertia effect is evident for larger strain rates but it is not dominating. An R-curve in the average sense is found to be strain-rate independent before the fracture process zone is fully developed and afterwards a velocity–toughness mechanism is dictating the crack growth.
AB - The mode-I dynamic fracture energy and failure mechanisms of glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites are investigated with an embedded cell model of the single-edge-notched-tension (SENT) geometry. Under an applied dynamic loading, a crack may propagate in the embedded microstructure, accompanied by the development of a fracture process zone in which fiber/matrix debonding, matrix cracking and ductile matrix tearing are observed. Reaching a maximum nominal strain rate of 250/s, a series of SENT tests are performed for different loading velocities and specimen sizes while the dynamic energy release rate is evaluated using the dynamic version of the J-integral. The influence and interaction of loading rate, time-dependent material nonlinearity, structural inertia and matrix ligament bridging on the fracture toughness and failure mechanisms of composites are evaluated. It is found that with the given material parameters and studied loading rate range, the failure type is brittle with many microcracks but limited plasticity in the fracture process zone and a trend of increasing brittleness for larger strain rates is observed. The inertia effect is evident for larger strain rates but it is not dominating. An R-curve in the average sense is found to be strain-rate independent before the fracture process zone is fully developed and afterwards a velocity–toughness mechanism is dictating the crack growth.
KW - Composites
KW - Dynamic crack propagation
KW - Embedded cell
KW - Fracture energy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099518726&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.engfracmech.2020.107522
DO - 10.1016/j.engfracmech.2020.107522
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099518726
SN - 0013-7944
VL - 243
JO - Engineering Fracture Mechanics
JF - Engineering Fracture Mechanics
M1 - 107522
ER -