Effect of resin-rich areas on failure behavior of unidirectional CFRP under transverse pure shear

Focusing on the typical random features of carbon fiber reinforced composites, resin-rich areas, the transverse pure shear failure behavior of CFRP was analyzed considering the influence of the typical resin-rich areas in the view of the finite element analysis of computational micromechanical, especially the damage initiation and evolution. An important observation is that the resin-rich areas would change the damage initiation locations and evolution directions, resulting large uncertainty on the mechanical properties. The existence of resin-rich areas can lower the maximum load of the model and accelerate the failure process of the model, and this effect is obviously changed with different locations and quantities. [Display omitted] •The generation of non-linear finite element models with different resin-rich areas.•Simultaneous analysis of microscopic random factors (interface) and meso-scale random features (resin-rich area).•Detailed discussion of the damage initiation and evolution process under the consideration of factors at different scales. Fiber reinforced composites are widely used in modern aerospace and industrial equipment due to their high specific strength, specific stiffness and designability. However, since the difficulty of controlling the consistency of its preparation and molding process, the mechanical behavior of fiber-reinforced composites structure shows a large and complex dispersion during service. This led to a conservative design and application of current fiber-reinforced composite structures, which has forced the selection of large design margins, severely limiting their efficient application. Focusing on the typical mesco random features which affect the mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced composites (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composite, CFRP) - resin-rich areas, the transverse pure shear failure behavior of CFRP was analyzed considering the influence of the typical resin-rich areas in the view of the finite element analysis of computational micromechanical. Firstly, based on the HC algorithm (Hard core algorithm) and RSE algorithm (Random sequential algorithm), non-uniform randomly distributed CFRP with different typical resin-rich areas are generated by the parameter control. Secondly, using the bilinear cohesion model and linear Drucker-Prager plasticity model to characterize the mechanical behavior of the interface and matrix, the representative volume element model is established by Abaqus. And the periodic