Sponsor:
Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Collaborator:
The University of Michigan

This project involves the development of a new failure initiation and progressive failure analysis (PFA) modeling method for advanced composite structures through a fundamental physics-based multiscale mechanics model. Initially, experimental work was conducted at the University of Michigan to understand the failure initiation and interaction of various failure mechanisms in composite laminate structures under compression. Based on these observations, a micromechanics model was developed to predict the nonlinear lamina-level deformation and failure response. Concurrently, a PFA methodology combining physics-based failure prediction models and the discrete cohesive zone method (DCZM) was developed to model laminated composites and account for all potential failure mechanisms and their interactions. Additionally, probabilistic analysis capability has been integrated into the PFA methodology to address material variability and manufacturing inconsistencies.