A discrete lattice model with axial and angular springs for modeling fracture in fiber-reinforced composite laminates

Abstract

In this research, we developed a new 2D triangular lattice model with axial and angular springs to simulate fracture problems in composites. The inclusion of angular springs in the model formulation resolves the constraint related to the choice of the shear modulus, which is present in other lattice models that only consider axial springs. Moreover, it accounts for progressive damage in composites by effectively integrating a linear softening constitutive law. This model is based on equating the strain energy stored in a representative hexagonal cell to its corresponding continuum solid. Four numerical examples demonstrate the ability of this method to predict elastic constants and dynamic and quasi-static fracture problems in unidirectional composites. The results will be compared with the numerical and empirical results documented by the other researchers.