A numerical framework to analyze fracture in composite materials: From R-curves to homogenized softening laws

A numerical framework to obtain the crack resistance curve (R-curve) and its corresponding softening law for fracture analysis in composite materials under small scale bridging has been developed. The use case addresses the intralaminar transverse tensile fracture of a unidirectional ply of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer AS4/8552. The R-curve is computed for this material using a micromechanical embedded model corresponding to the intralaminar...