Effects of interphase material properties in unidirectional fibre reinforced composites

A three-dimensional (3D) micromechanical study has been performed in order to investigate local damage in unidirectional (UD) composite materials with epoxy resin under transverse tensile loading. In particular the effect of different mechanical properties of a 3D interphase within the hexagonal array RVE have been considered and effects of thermal residual stress arising during the curing process have been accounted for in this study. To examine the effect of interphase properties and residual stress on failure, a study based on the temperature-dependent properties of matrix and interphase and a stiffness degradation technique has been used for damage analysis of the unit cell subjected to mechanical loading. Results indicate a strong dependence of damage onset and its evolution from the different interphase properties within the RVE (representative volume element). Moreover, predicted mechanical properties, damage initiation and evolution are also clearly influenced by the presence of residual stress. Numerical results and experimental data (in the literature) have also shown an interesting agreement. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.