Continuum damage mechanics: A modeling approach for comprehensive assessment of subcritical damage in composites

The concept of "failure" has served the engineering practice well for designing structures to perform safely in service environments. Historically, this concept has its roots in experience with metals where the onset of undesirable material condition is yielding followed ultimately by unstable behavior characterized by maximum load carrying capacity. This classical concept of material failure was subsequently broadened to include fracture, which deals with onset and instability of growth of a preexisting flaw. In heterogeneous materials, particularly in composites, where multiple materials exist, the failure and fracture concepts are not as straightforward. The concept of damage is instead more useful, with its onset and criticality as two end conditions.

Continuum damage mechanics: A modeling approach for comprehensive assessment of subcritical damage in composites Conference Paper