Short-term microdamageability of a fibrous composite with physically nonlinear matrix and microdamaged reinforcement

A structural theory of short-term microdamage is proposed for a fibrous composite with physically nonlinear matrix and microdamaged reinforcement. The theory is based on the stochastic elasticity equations of a fibrous composite with porous fibers. Microvolumes of the fiber material are damaged in accordance with the Huber-Mises failure criterion. A balance equation for damaged microvolumes in the reinforcement is derived. This equation together with the equations relating macrostresses and macrostrains of a fibrous composite with porous reinforcement and physically nonlinear matrix constitute a closed-form system. This system describes the coupled processes of physically nonlinear deformation and microdamage that occur in different components of the composite. Algorithms are proposed for computing the dependences of microdamage on macrostrains and macrostresses on macrostrains. Uniaxial tension curves are plotted for a fibrous composite with a linearly hardening matrix __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 3–13, February 2006.