High-Performance Composite Materials for Vehicle Construction: A Finite Element Computer Program for the Elastoplastic Analysis of Crack Propagation in a Unidirectional Composite,

摘要

Structural materials composed of stiff filaments embedded in a plastic matrix--e.g., a boron-aluminum composite--have very high compressive strength per unit weight,but their performance is limited by a resistance to transverse loading that is no greater than that found in conventional materials. A step toward predicting the strength of composite materials is the numerical model and computer program of crack initiation and propagation under transverse normal loading,documented here. Based on the tangent modulus,finite element method of elastoplastic analysis,the FORTRAN IV program models material failure of the type that has been observed in composite materials,where microscopic cracks develop at the matrix-filament boundary and propagate throughout the matrix. (Modified author abstract)