A bundle-scale model of propagation of a through-the-thickness notch in a woven composite under fatigue loading
Résumé
The propagation of a through-the-thickness crack on woven laminate under high cycle fatigue loading has been simulated using an original modelling based on the bundle scale. The approach developed in this paper is constituted according to experimental observation of damage in woven glass-epoxy fabric. It uses finite element method including semi-discrete damage to represent matrix micro-cracks and cumulative damage law to compute fibres lifetime. The modelling can be applied to planar problems of crack propagation under multi-axial loading. Its results were compared to experimental propagation tests on woven glass-epoxy structural samples.