Resumen de Mesolevel Modeling of Failure in Composite Laminates: Constitutive, Kinematic and Algorithmic Aspects

Frans P. van der Meer

• In this paper recent developments for mesolevel modeling of failure in composite laminates are reviewed. The complexity of failure processes in composite laminates presses the need for reliable computational tools that can predict strength and damage tolerance. In mesolevel modeling, where individual layers are modeled separately but individual fibers are not, different failure processes are distinguished such as delamination, fiber failure and matrix failure. This paper deals with the question how these different processes should be treated for efficient and realistic computational modeling of failure. The development that is central in this review is the use of the extended finite element method (XFEM) for matrix cracks. Much attention is also paid to algorithmic aspects of implicit analysis of complex failure mechanisms, particularly but not exclusively in relation to XFEM. Furthermore, the remaining limitations and challenges for mesolevel analysis of composite failure are discussed