Hybrid micromechanical-phenomenological modelling of anisotropic damage and anelasticity induced by micro-cracks in unidirectional composites

In this paper, a new damage modelling approach is presented to describe the mechanical response of unidirectional composites under the small strain assumption. The proposed constitutive equations inherits from the phenomenological theories of Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) but brings out a micromechanical description of the damaged Representative Volume Element (RVE) while being formulated in a proper thermodynamical framework. The model is provided with an implicit numerical scheme based on the so-called “return mapping algorithm” as well as the formulation of the tangent operator. The identification and the prediction capabilities of the model are validated using experimental data including off-axis tensile tests. Finally, to provide a better understanding of the model, a multi-axial non-proportional simulation is performed and analysed.