An integrated processing-failure model was developed to predict the inter-laminar strength of a plain weave composite flange manufactured using the Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) technique. A multiscale modeling framework was established to exchange the information between different scales. At the global scale, the composite was treated as a single, homogeneous material, and the global stress and strain fields were solved through a cure-dependent constitutive law using the homogenized composite properties. At the integration point of the homogenized model, a discrete model was created to represent the microstructure of the textile composite, and the cure-induced local stress field was calculated by imposing the strain history obtained from the homogenized model on the boundaries of the discrete model. After the curing process, the discrete model was virtually loaded, and the Smear Crack Approach (SCA) was employed to predict the failure response of the matrix. The current study shows that the curing-induced residual stress has little impact on the composite inter-laminar strength. However, the strength can be reduced by 35% with 1% void content.
展开▼