A Comprehensive Study of the Flexural Behaviour and Damage Evolution of Composite Laminates using a Progressive Failure Model

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, a new progressive damage model has been established with the aim of predicting the flexural behaviour and damage evolution of different composite laminates under three-point bending. In this proposed model, a progressive failure algorithm is developed for numerical analyses where the intra/interlaminar failure modes were considered for estimating the damage evolution. A set of gradual stiffness degradation rules were proposed to predict further damage evolution following damage initiation estimated by the combination of the three-dimensional Puck failure criteria and the cohesive zone model. The damage mechanics of composite laminates IMS194/CYCOM977-2 with ply sequence and AS4/PEEK with ply sequence are investigated by our proposed model. In addition, the present model's results were compared with those reported in the literature. Our findings indicate that the proposed model accurately predicts the failure of laminates, which is beneficial to the study of the damage mechanism of composite laminates.