E$^2$-TFA based multiscale analysis of failure in elasto-plastic composites

Abstract

This paper describes a novel homogenization methodology for analyzing the failure of elastoplastic composite materials based on elastic and eigen influence tensors-driven transformation field analysis ($\mathtt{E}^2$-TFA). The proposed technique considers the microscopic eigenstrain field accounting for intra-phase damage and inelastic strains. This results in realistic computations by alleviating the post-damage stiffness response, which is a drawback of TFA-based methods. We attain computational efficiency by identifying the preprocessing data solely from the elastic and eigen transformation functions and adopting a reduced order modelling technique with a piecewise constant eigenstrain field throughout the subdomains. The performance of the model is assessed by simulating the response for (a) the representative volume element (RVE) as a homogenized continuum and (b) the various composites under complex load histories with intricate macroscale morphologies. Furthermore, the nonlinear shear stress-strain response of a glass fiber composite is calculated and compared to experimentally measured fracture initiation parameters, failure plane orientation, and strain histories. Finally, we show that $\mathtt{E}^2$-TFA can accurately and efficiently capture damage and inelastic deformations in order to estimate the mechanical response of composite materials in a better way.