Three-dimensional micromechanical analysis models of fiber reinforced composite plates with damage

A three-dimensional micromechanical analysis model was established to investigate the force-bearing mechanisms and damage in fiber reinforce composite plates. In the proposed model, the matrix and fibers were described by the extended layerwise method (XLWM) and the three-dimensional bar elements, respectively. The final governing equation of composite with damage was developed from combing the governing equations of matrix and fibers by the displacement compatibility conditions at the coupling interfaces. The equivalent material property of matrix calculated by the volume faction of fibers was used to remove the contribution of the redundant matrix shaved the overlapping region with fibers. In the numerical examples, the unidirectional composite plates with damage were investigated to validate the proposed model, and the results calculated by the proposed model are compared with those of the 3D elastic models developed in the general commercial finite element code. In addition, the effects of the damage on the stress distribution in fibers were investigated.