Continuum damage mechanics behavior of a carbon-fiber-reinforced epoxy composite fabricated by filament winding with different material and manufacturing conditions

The elastic, plastic, and in-plane damage evolutions of a carbon-fiber-reinforced epoxy composite fabricated via filament winding were studied based on continuum damage mechanics. The specific voids and resin-rich region distributions depended on the material and manufacturing conditions. The damage evolutions were expressed by a unified curve, indicating that the continuum damage mechanics approach gave a robust prediction of the damage evolution, although the critical damage at the ultimate failure depended on the material and manufacturing conditions. The damage coupling parameters were also affected by these conditions, which changed the damage evolution behavior under simultaneous shear and transverse damage development situations.