The failure mechanism of carbon fiber-reinforced composites under longitudinal compression considering the interface

Abstract In this paper, a longitudinal compression experiment of composites was conducted and the macroscopic failure mode was obtained. Also, the microscopic failure morphologies of longitudinal compression and kink band were observed by using scanning electron microscopy. It can be seen that, under compression, fibers bend and form a kink band, which is the most typical failure mode. Then a micromechanical model of fiber random distribution based on the random collision algorithm, which can reveal the progressive failure mechanism of longitudinal compression considering the kink-band deformation, was established, with two dominant damage mechanisms – plastic deformation and ductile damage initiation of the polymer matrix and interfacial debonding included in the simulation by the extended Drucker-Prager model and cohesive zone model, respectively. Through numerical simulation, the loading and failure procedures were divided into three stages: elastic domain, softening domain and fiber failure domain. It can be concluded that the kink band was a result of fiber instability (micro-bulking), which is caused by the elastic bending of fibers. The fibers rotate and break into two places, forming a kink band. Then the fibers rotate further until the matrix between the fibers fails and the kink-band breaks and, hence, the composite loses its load-bearing capability.