A numerical scheme for fatigue simulation of laminated composites using CZM-XFEM

icaf2023 Tracking Number 21

A numerical method for fatigue damage accumulation in laminated composites is developed in this paper. Extended finite element method (XFEM) and cohesive element are integrated into a numerical program for fatigue fracture. In this work, XFEM and cohesive element are applied for modelling matrix cracking and delamination in CFRP laminates respectively. A fatigue model based on cohesive zone model (CZM) is also introduced into the numerical scheme. Standard DCB and ENF fatigue tests are used as the identification of parameters of the fatigue model, and simulation models of the standard tests are established for calibrating the fatigue model of pure mode. With the parameters calibrated by the benchmarks of pure mode tests, the numerical analysis of open hole tensile (OHT) test is conducted to investigate the fracture behaviors of composite laminates under cyclic loading. The delamination, splitting in the 0° plies and transverse cracking in the 90° plies are all predicted in the numerical results. The progression of fatigue damage in the simulation model is consistent with previous experimental work. This study demonstrates that the proposed numerical method can correctly predict the initiation and evolution of fatigue damage under mixed mode loading. By XFEM, in-ply matrix cracking can be modelled as multiple mesh-independent path in FE model. This paper provides a convenient approach utilizing the features of XFEM for simulating fatigue cracking in composite laminates.