A micro–meso computational strategy for the prediction of the damage and failure of laminates

Laminated composites may undergo significant degradations prior to their ultimate failure. Even though these degradations are associated with length scales which are much smaller than the structural scale, their interactions may greatly influence global failure. Various approaches have been proposed to seek the best compromise between a detailed physical description and a reasonable computational cost. This paper presents a combined micro–meso computational strategy based on two existing models involving two different descriptions of the mechanisms on the ply’s scale (a discrete description and a homogenized continuous description). The coupling of the two models is achieved through a nonintrusive global–local strategy. In addition, a specific type of link is introduced, enabling one to choose the information to be transferred between the two scales. The coupled calculation enables one to evaluate the limitations of the homogenized mesoscale model and contributes to the determination of a more accurate and computationally efficient multiscale strategy.