Elastic and elastic-plastic singular fields around a crack-tip in particulate-reinforced composites with progressive debonding damage

This paper deals with elastic and elastic-plastic singular fields around a crack-tip in particulate-reinforced composites with debonding damage of particle-matrix interface. Numerical analyses are carried out on a crack-tip field in elastic-matrix and elastic-plastic-matrix composites reinforced with elastic particles, using a finite element method developed based on an incremental damage theory of particulate-reinforced composites. A particle volume fraction and interfacial strength between particles and matrix of the composites are parametrically changed. In the elastic-matrix composites, a unique elastic singular field is created on the complete damage zone in the vicinity of a crack-tip in addition to the conventional elastic singular field on the no damage zone. The macroscopic stress level around a crack-tip is reduced by the debonding damage while the microscopic stress level of the matrix remains unchanged. In the elastic-plastic-matrix composites, the damage zone develops in addition to the plastic zone due to matrix plasticity, and both the macroscopic and microscopic stress revels around a crack-tip are reduced by the debonding damage. It is concluded from the numerical results that the toughening due to damage could be expected in the elastic-plastic-matrix composites, while it is questionable in the elastic-matrix composites. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.