Modelling of Damage Evolution in Laminated Viscoelastic Composites

A computational finite element model is developed herein for the purpose of predicting the evolution of delaminations in a laminated continuous fiber polymer matrix composite subjected to monotonically increasing loading. Because the temperature of interest is near the glass transition temperature of the matrix, the lamina are modelled as orthotropic linear viscoelastic materials. Crack growth is accommodated in the prediction via the incorporation of a cohesive zone model. Although the resulting algorithm is nonlinear and computationally intensive, it is demonstrated herein to be tenable for predicting delamination evolution. To illustrate this point, results are obtained for a quasi-isotropic [00,450,90°, -45° 12 laminate subjected to in-plane loading, as well as a crossply [9006/003], laminate subjected to out-of-plane loading. While results obtained herein are encouraging, they also indicate that further research is warranted to study potential anomalies.