Comparison of Numerical and Experimental Study of Mode-I Interlaminar Fracture of Self-Healing Composites Using Cohesive Zone Modeling

Abstract

In this paper, the comparison of numerical and experimental study of a Mode-I interlaminar fracture for double cantilever beam (DCB) composite specimens with self-healing is presented. The cohesive zone modeling (CZM) approach has been implemented using finite element analysis (FEA). The cohesive zone is defined using traction-separation law, which includes the cohesive parameters that influence the fracture process. However, these cohesive parameters are usually unknown, and hence, this study is focused on estimating the cohesive parameters by comparing FEA simulation results to that with experimental observations. The experimental approach to obtain the new CZM models based on the J-integral method is also presented due to the inability of the traditional cohesive models to represent the macro-mechanical response behavior of healed specimens. The primary purpose of using FEA in addition to the experimental studies for self-healing DCB specimens is to complement the predictive healing and determine whether to initiate the self-healing in real time, which lies within the Dynamic-Data Driven Application Systems (DDDAS) paradigm. Therefore, the present study, which includes CZM with FEA serves as a first step of the damage prognosis module.