Microstress prediction in composite laminate

The objective of this research is to develop a macroscopic theory, which can provide the connection between macromechanics and micromechanics in characterizing the micro-stress of composite laminates near edges and holes. The micropolar theory, a class of higher-order elasticity theory, of composite laminate mechanics is implemented in a well-known Pipes-Pagano free edge boundary problem. The micropolar homogenization method to determine the micropolar anisotropic effective elastic moduli is presented. A displacement-based finite element method based on micropolar theory in anisotropic solids is developed in analyzing composite laminates. The effects of fiber volume fraction and cell size on the normal stress along the artificial interface of the composite laminate are also investigated. The stress response based on micropolar theory is compared with those deduced from the micromechanics and classical elasticity theory. Special attention of the investigation focuses on the stress fields near the free edge where the high macrostress gradient occurs. The normal stresses along the artificial interface and especially, the microstress along the fiber/matrix interface on the critical cell near the free edge where the high macrostress gradient detected are the focus of this investigation. These microstresses are expected to dominate the failure initiation process in composite laminate. The implementation of micropolar analysis on the prediction of microstress of the critical cell near the free edge is found to be in very good agreement with “exact” microstress solutions. It is demonstrated that the micropolar theory is able to capture the microstress correctly from the homogenized solutions.