BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PHYSICS AND LARGESCALE STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS: A NOVEL METHOD FOR FATIGUE LIFE PREDICTION OF COMPOSITES

摘要

The need for the capability to apply physics-based theories and principles to composite materials has been widely recognized. Efforts to develop this capability for analysis of large structures have been hindered by excess computational time or the inability to separate differences in the physical behavior exhibited by each constituent material in the composite. In this work, a new approach is proposed for composite fatigue life prediction. The stresses and strains of the composite constituents are calculated using multicontinuum theory, which requires negligible additional computation time beyond that of standard finite element analysis of a homogenized material. The constituent stresses are used in combination with kinetic theory to predict fatigue life in large-scale composite structures under a variety of complex load states. This method is easily adapted to existing finite element analysis tools and requires minimal composite fatigue characterization. The approach provides the needed bridge between physics and large-scale structural analysis.