A phase-field-cohesive-zone framework to simulate multiple failure mechanisms of elastoplastic fiber-reinforced composites

The mechanical properties of metal matrix fiber-reinforced composites depend on many aspects of their structure in a complicated way. In this paper, we propose a phase-field-cohesive-zone framework to study interface debonding, matrix cracking, and their competition in metal matrix fiber-reinforced elastoplastic composites by numerical simulation. This approach combines an explicit cohesive zone model for interface debonding and a phase field model for matrix cracking. The features of this framework are: (1) crack propagation and branching can be simulated without the need to track the cracks; (2) the interface debonding is described by the cohesive zone model, and is not directly interfered by the phase field in the bulk; (3) the cohesive interface has zero thickness instead of being regularized; (4) any reasonable cohesive law of interest is readily incorporated with very few constraints; (5) the competition of the two failure mechanisms, namely, matrix cracking and interface debonding, is captured. Accuracy of this framework is verified with existing analytical and numerical results. The proposed framework shows a potential in investigating various complicated crack behaviors in composites.