Polymer Composite Materials Ultimate Cracking Strain Determining Method Based on Applying the DAR-MAI Automated Computational Complex

Testing of the Flying Vehicles Composite Structures Elements


Аuthors

Turbin N. V.*, Kalutsky N. S.**, Ipatyeva I. D.

Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University), 4, Volokolamskoe shosse, Moscow, А-80, GSP-3, 125993, Russia

*e-mail: turbinnv@mai.ru
**e-mail: kalutskijns@mai.ru

Abstract

Conventional non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques exhibit inherently limited sensitivity to the incipient matrix microcracking. This diagnostic constraint underscores the critical need for reliable predictive tools capable of the matrix cracking behavior estimating in polymer composite materials (PCMs) during the preliminary design phase.

The discrete damage mechanics (DDM) model provides a robust theoretical framework for both initiation and propagation of matrix cracks description as functions of the applied strain field, with the intra-laminar fracture toughness of the unidirectional ply serving as the primary material input. To render this approach amenable to the routine engineering strength assessments, a dedicated computational package has been developed and embedded into the Abaqus/CAE® finite-element environment. The architecture of this package is designed to replicate consistently the logical sequence of the developed procedure for the PCM laminate ultimate cracking strain determining.

The operational workflow of the computational tool is delineated with specific emphasis on the task of ultimate cracking strain prediction. The developed package effectively transfers the DDM methodology from a specialist-oriented domain, which requires intimate familiarity with the Abaqus input file syntax and the internal organization of state variables within user subroutines, into the sphere of standard engineering practice. Through an intuitive graphical interface, the engineer specifies material constants (elastic moduli, Poisson's ratios, fracture toughness), stacking sequence, and structural regions using terminology standard in composite design. Concurrently, all low-level operations, including the assembly of syntactically correct command blocks, automatic alignment of the number of material definitions and state variables with the actual ply count, and extraction of the unlabeled state variables from the output database, are being executed autonomously by the plugin. This automation not only curtails pre-processing time but also substantially mitigates common user-induced errors, most notably improper state-variable initialization, which frequently results in numerical non-convergence. Consequently, the simulated progressive cracking response of layered composites becomes highly reproducible, thereby facilitating systematic comparative parametric studies across diverse material systems and stacking architectures.

A representative numerical example is presented. The results reveal that the laminate cracking strain, the rate of crack density evolution with increasing applied load, and the characteristics of the saturated cracking state are all markedly dependent on both the total laminate thickness and the degree of clustering of identically oriented plies. Owing to the pronounced sensitivity of the ultimate cracking strain to the number of adjacent plies sharing the same fibre orientation, laminate cracking is observed to precede fibre-dominated failure—even in the case of a simple stacking arrangement comprising only two consecutive unidirectional layers with identical orientation. Conversely, for practically relevant stacking sequences that minimise such ply grouping (i.e., those with maximally dispersed orientations), the laminate-level cracking strain substantially surpasses the transverse ultimate strain of a single ply, which is conventionally adopted as a conservative design criterion for PCM strength evaluation.

It follows that application of the proposed methodology for the laminate-specific cracking strain determining offers a rational basis for the inherent conservatism in current thickness sizing practices reducing. This, in turn, provides a tangible pathway towards weight optimisation of the composite structural components without compromising their overall structural reliability.

Keywords:

polymer matrix cracking, discrete fracture mechanics of composite materials, ultimate cracking strain, , user subroutine UGENS, DAR-MAI computational complex

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