BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PHYSICS AND LARGESCALESTRUCTURAL ANALYSIS: A NOVEL METHOD FORFATIGUE LIFE PREDICTION OF COMPOSITES

摘要

The need for the capability to apply physics-based theories and principles to composite materialshas been widely recognized. Efforts to develop this capability for analysis of large structureshave been hindered by excess computational time or the inability to separate differences in thephysical behavior exhibited by each constituent material in the composite. In this work, a newapproach is proposed for composite fatigue life prediction. The stresses and strains of thecomposite constituents are calculated using multicontinuum theory, which requires negligibleadditional computation time beyond that of standard finite element analysis of a homogenizedmaterial. The constituent stresses are used in combination with kinetic theory to predict fatiguelife in large-scale composite structures under a variety of complex load states. This method iseasily adapted to existing finite element analysis tools and requires minimal composite fatiguecharacterization. The approach provides the needed bridge between physics and large-scalestructural analysis.