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The intralaminar and interlaminar damages of U3160/3266 laminated composites toughened by polyamide nonwoven fabric (PNF) under low velocity impact are investigated through a numerical model which considers both the three-dimensional continuum damage mechanics (CDM) and the bilinear cohesive zone model (CZM). The analysis of the intralaminar damage is implemented by the ABAQUS/Explicit finite element code coupled with a user-defined subroutine VUMAT where the longitudinal failure, transverse matrix cracking, and nonlinear shear of the material are taken into account. Then the effects of the thickness and strength of PNF/3266 interlayer on the damage of composites are numerically analyzed. The results reveal that damage morphology can be simulated qualitatively compared to the experimental counterparts. With the decreasing interlayer thickness or the increasing interlayer strength, the damage area is effectively reduced. This work provides an effective model to predict the low velocity impact damage of composites, and is helpful for the optimization of interlayer toughened composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers

Based on the continuum damage mechanics (CDM) and the cohesive zone model (CZM), a numerical analysis method for the evaluation of damage in composite laminates under low-velocity impact is proposed. The intraply damage including matrix crack and fiber fracture is represented by the CDM which takes into account the progressive failure behavior in the ply, using the damage variable to describe the intraply damage state. The delamination is characterized by a special contact law including the CZM which takes into account the normal crack and the tangential slip. The effect of the interlaminar toughness on the impact damage is investigated, which is as yet seldom discussed in detail. The results reveal that as the interlaminar fracture toughness enhances, the delamination area and the dissipated energy caused by delamination decrease. The contribution of normal crack and tangential slip to delamination is evaluated numerically, and the later one is the dominant delamination type during the impact process. Meanwhile, the numerical prediction has a good agreement with the experimental results. The study is helpful for the optimal design and application of composite laminates, especially for the design of interlaminar toughness according to certain requirements. POLYM. COMPOS., 2014. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers

The mold filling time and resin flow front shape are of fundamental importance during resin transfer molding (RTM) processes, because the former influences productivity and the latter affects composites quality. In this article, considering both edge effect and curing reaction characteristics of the resin flow process, the sensitivity analysis method is introduced to investigate the sensitive degree of mold filling time and resin flow front shape to the key material and processing parameters. The function employed to describe the resin flow front shape is defined, and the mathematical relationships of the key physical parameters, such as fluid pressure sensitivity, flow velocity sensitivity, mold filling time sensitivity, and resin flow front shape sensitivity, are established simultaneously. In addition, then the resin infiltration process is simulated by means of a semi-implicit iterative calculation method and the finite volume method. The simulated results are in agreement with the analytical ones. The results show that under constant injection velocity conditions, both the change in the resin temperature and the alteration of the inlet velocity hardly affect the resin flow front shape, whereas the influence of edge permeability on the resin flow front shape is the greatest. This study is helpful for designing and optimizing RTM processes. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:2008–2016, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineer

At the reactive mould-filling stage in resin transfer moulding (RTM) processes, the correlation analysis of epoxy/amine resin cure, structure and chemorheological behavior plays a key role in the optimum control of RTM processes. A new methodology used to simulate the reactive resin flow in RTM processes with edge effect is presented in this article. The recursive approach and the branching theory are used to describe the evolution of molecular structure and resin viscosity, respectively. And then the resin flow process is simulated by means of a semi-implicit iterative calculation method and the finite volume method. The results reveal the proposed resin cure-structure-viscosity model provides excellent agreement with the experimental viscosity data during the RTM filling process. It is also observed that the curing reaction causes the inhomogeneous distribution of resin conversion and resin molecular weight in the mould cavity, which will result in the spatially structural and performance inhomogeneities in the finished products. With the injection temperature or the edge width increasing, the discrepancy of resin conversion and resin molecular weight in the mould cavity is more evident. This study is helpful for understanding the complicated relationship among the processing variables, resin structures, and properties. POLYM. COMPOS., 32: 648-656, 2011. (C) 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers

The uniaxial tension experiments on glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy matrix composites reveal that the fragmentations of fibers display vertically aligned fracture, clustered fracture, coordinated fracture, and random fracture with the increase of inter-fiber spacing. The finite element analysis indicates that the fragmentations of fibers displaying different phenomena are due to the stress concentration as well as the inherent randomness of fiber defects, which is the dominant factor. The experimental results show that matrices adjacent to the fiber breakpoints all exhibit birefringent-whitening patterns for the composites with different interfacial adhesion strengths. The larger the extent of the interfacial debonding, the less the domain of the birefringent-whitening patterns. The numerical analysis indicates that the orientation of the matrix adjacent to a fiber breakpoint is caused by the interfacial shear stress, resulting in the birefringent-whitening patterns. The area of shear stress concentrations decides on the domain of the birefringent-whitening patterns.

Experimental observations on micromorphologies around broken fibers in glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy matrix composites reveal different kinds of highly oriented patches at the circumambience of broken fibers, whereas the bulk of the matrix has been observed to be largely isotropic. These patches are interpreted to correlated areas where the stress gradients of the matrix are formed after fiber breaking, but the underlying cause for the orientation is still unknown. The authors have modified an embedded cell model to explain the experimental phenomena. The finite element simulation indicates that the surfaces around broken fibers display a change from an extension micromorphology to a mixed tension and shear micromorphology with the increase of applied strain.