Damage modeling of MWCNT reinforced Carbon/Epoxy composite using different failure criteria: a comparative study

In the present study, the progressive failure on MWCNT reinforced 5-Harness satin fabric composite materials is analysed using finite element (FE) analysis for Hashin and Puck failure criteria and degradation models. The progressive failure analysis of laminated composites is carried out on open-hole tensile (OHT) and short beam shear test (SBST) specimens for different volume percentages of MWCNT as reinforcements. The inter-ply delamination in CNT reinforced laminated composites is demonstrated through cohesive zone modeling. The load–displacement responses obtained from FE analyses are with a reasonable agreement when compared with available experimental data in the literature. Further, the effect of MWCNTs are demonstrated on fiber fracture and inter-fiber crack in longitudinal and transverse directions, and on matrix failure using sub-modeling of mesoscopic representative volume cell. The damage propagation was retarded due to the addition of CNT as reinforcement up to a volume percentage of 2.0%. FE simulations for sub-modeling confirmed that the presence of MWCNTs in woven composites decreased the percentages of damaged regions especially fiber, matrix, and shear damages to yarns. The flexural strength degradation of SBST samples was observed mainly due to delaminations between layers. Sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification have been performed for the influencing input parameters used in FE simulations on the critical output parameters, especially for peak load and stiffness of the OHT laminated composite specimens.