A continuum damage model for transverse cracking in UD composites of linear viscoelastic behaviour

Abstract

A damage model for linear viscoelastic unidirectional (UD) composites undergoing transverse matrix cracking is proposed. The damage representation for the corresponding elastic UD composite with an array of dispersed matrix cracks was derived from Li's work based on continuum damage mechanics (CDM). The elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle (CP) was used to obtain the damage representation for corresponding linear viscoelastic UD composites in the Laplace domain, and re-expressed the time domain by taking the inverse Laplace transformation. A damage evolution law was constructed using the Weibull distribution of defects which will develop into cracks as a result of deformation. The time-temperature superposition principle (TTSP) approach has been incorporated into this model. Applications of this damage model are described in detail, and the predictions are compared with experimental data