A phase field approach enhanced with a cohesive zone model for modeling delamination induced by matrix cracking

The progressive damage analysis of fiber-reinforced composite materials is a challenging task, especially when complicated cracking scenarios arise due to the onset and progression of several damage mechanisms. From a modeling point of view, a particularly complex failure scenario is the interaction between intralaminar and interlaminar cracks. This work proposes a novel framework accounting for this interaction through the coupling of a nonlocal damage model based on the phase field approach for the intralaminar failure with a cohesive zone model for the interlaminar one. The modular variational formalism of the method presented leads to a very compact and efficient numerical strategy, which endows the fulfillment of the thermodynamic consistency restrictions and provides a relatively simple basis for its finite element implementation due to the preclusion of complex crack tracking procedures with standard element architectures. After addressing its implementation in the context of the finite element method in a high performance computing environment, the capabilities of the proposed formulation are explored through a numerical investigation of a cross-ply laminate subjected to a 4-point bending configuration. The comparison of the numerical predictions against the experimental observations demonstrates the reliability of the proposed framework for capturing the delamination induced by matrix cracking failure scenario.