Atomistically informed method of cells based multiscale approach for analysis of CFRP composites

In this paper a multiscale-modeling framework is presented wherein fundamental damage information at the atomic level is coupled with a sectional micromechanics model for the nonlinear and damage analysis of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. Damage information in the polymer matrix originating from the atomic scale, as investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, is transferred to the continuum length scale using a continuum damage mechanics approach with a physical damage evolution equation. Such a framework is shown to be computationally efficient for the linear and damage analysis of CFRP composites and reasonably accurate when compared to experimental data and verified models in literature. Furthermore, material uncertainty, such as curing degree variation in polymers, can be computationally calculated leading to a computational stochastic analysis of the CFRP composites. Thus, such a framework can be used to investigate the damage mechanics of ply level CFRP components at the nano, micro and macro length scales.