Numerical analysis of the mechanical behavior of carbon fiber reinforced composites based on elastoplastic macroscopic model

Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs) are becoming increasingly important due to their high potentials to automotive, aircraft and ship applications. To the effective design of structural parts using CFRPs, reliable numerical modelling is indispensable. Therefore, many predicted models have been developed for the mechanical analysis of CFRPs. Micromechanical models have been used to predict the elastic behaviour of CFRPs, but their expensive computational cost remains a problem. Because the macroscopic behaviour of the complex composite structure should be described properly, various macroscopic models have been also developed based on continuum mechanics. However, it is still challenging to predict the failure behaviour of CFRPs at product level. In this study, continuum-based elastoplastic model (based on Chen and Sun’s plastic model) was developed to analyse the mechanical behaviour of CFRP. Uniaxial tensile and compression tests of unidirectional CFRPs were carried out to determine the material parameters of the elastoplastic model. Initial and progressive failures of CFRPs were then determined by Puck’s failure criterion and damage mechanics. The proposed model was implemented in ABAQUS using user material subroutine (UMAT). Finally, the nonlinear mechanical behaviour of CFRP was then predicted and compared with experiments, demonstrating the validity of the current model.