A new mechanism based cohesive zone model for Mode I delamination coupled with fiber bridging of composite laminates

Based on identification of the two distinguishing delamination mechanisms within the two delamination zones associated with Mode I fracture toughness testing of composite laminates using the well-known ASTM standard double cantilever specimen (DCB), a new mechanism based cohesive zone model (MB-CZM) is proposed in this work. Overcoming the limitations with the widely used superposed cohesive zone models, the proposed MB-CZM develops two traction-separation relations to individually represent the two distinctive delamination mechanisms. One for the quasi-brittle linear elastic behavior of composite material and another for the nonlinear characteristics of fiber bridging which is commonly simplified with tri-linear to multi-linear approximation in the previous cohesive zone models (CZMs). Energy decomposition is carried out based on different damage and toughening mechanisms associated with delamination initiation and propagation. The proposed new MB-CZM is implemented in the finite element analysis via two UMAT subroutines and used in the numerical simulations. The good agreement of the simulation results with the experimental results provides the verification and demonstration of the capabilities of the proposed MB-CZM.