Failure prediction for high-strain rate and out-of-plane compression of fibrous composites

This work presents a detailed analysis of failure prediction for a glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) composite under out-of-plane compression at quasi-static (10⁻³ and 1 s⁻¹) and high strain rates (10³ s⁻¹). The simulations were compared with the experiments of a recent study (Pournoori. et al. Int. J. Impact Eng., 147 (2021)). The failure at different strain rates was predicted using the three-dimensional (3D) Hashin failure criterion implemented into the finite element analysis by the Abaqus user-defined subroutines UMAT and VUMAT. According to the results, the criterion predicted failure onset well in terms of force level, location, and failure mode, without any fitting parameters. The inter-fiber failure was the dominant failure mode at all studied strain rates in simulations. The 3D Hashin criterion predicted that the failure onset occurred at a low strain level close to the experimental nonlinearity point with a ±7% difference between them while the coefficient of variation of related strains at nonlinearity point was 15.4% at low and intermediate rate tests. The virtual crack closure technique simulations of fracture for low and high rate tests indicated that the GFRP deformation involves some dissipation, which causes a type of nonlinear response prior to the peak force.