Numerical analysis for progressive damage of composite laminates based on analytic model of unit cell

Based on analytic model of unit cell, a progressive damage model is developed from micro constituents of composites. The micro-macro correlation matrix is presented according to the continuum mechanics and homogenization method. The elastic and damage properties of the constituents are passed to the composite laminates by the micro-macro correlation matrix. Fiber and matrix material properties and fiber volume fraction are required rather than elastic and strength parameters of laminate material. The constituents are judged to be damage or undamaged by using the failure criterion. Once the constituents are damaged, the stiffness is degraded through the damage factor. The analytic model of unit cell and the damage theory are implemented in the finite software ABAQUS by using the user material subroutine UMAT and VUMAT. The damage progression of composite laminates containing a hole is simulated by finite element analysis, and the ultimate strength of composite laminates is computed. Numerical results show that the predicted strength by the proposed method agrees well with experimental results, thus the method is verified.