Mesoscale analysis of damage growth in woven composites

The characteristic damage mechanisms of a four-layer plain weave glass fiber/epoxy matrix composite are analyzed by means of optical microscope observations on the edge of a rectangular specimen under tensile loading. Digital image correlation is used to determine the size of transverse yarn cracks and yarn-yarn debonding around the crack tips. An algorithm based on Finite Fracture Mechanics is proposed to model crack and debond initiation and propagation in the composite, which takes into account possible couplings between the cracks. The predicted debond and crack densities are in good agreement with the experimental observations.