A comparison of multicontinuum theory based failure simulation with experimental results

Abstract This paper is part of a broader exercise to determine the predictive capability of several currently accepted composite failure criteria. Blind failure and stress–strain predictions were originally submitted by us to the organizers of the exercise for 14 different cases involving four different composite materials. A finite element based analysis was used to simulate progressive failure of the various composite laminates under uniaxial and multiaxial loading. Under the assumption of the composite acting as a multicontinuum, fiber and matrix constituent stress and strain states were derived. This information formed the input to a quadratic, stress-interactive constituent-based failure criteria to predict damage at the composite level. Two-dimensional failure envelopes and stress–strain curves for the composite were developed. In what follows, the experimental results have been made available to us for comparison against our analytical failure simulations. Generally, these analytical predictions were in good agreement with experimental results. The presence of simultaneous normal and shear stresses in a composite laminate was found to significantly enhance shear strength which was not accounted for in the proposed failure criteria.