A combined experimental/numerical investigation on hygrothermal aging of fiber-reinforced composites

This work investigates hygrothermal aging degradation of unidirectional glass/epoxy composite specimens through a combination of experiments and numerical modeling. Aging is performed through immersion in demineralized water. Interlaminar shear testes are performed after multiple conditioning times and after single immersion/redrying cycles. Degradation of the fiber-matrix interface is estimated using single-fiber fragmentation tests and reverse modeling combining analytical and numerical models. A fractographic analysis of specimens aged at 50°C and 65°C is performed through X-ray computed tomography. The aging process is modeled using a numerical framework combining a diffusion analysis with a concurrent multiscale model with embedded hyper-reduced micromodels. At the microscale, a pressure-dependent viscoelastic/viscoplastic model with damage is used for the resin and fiber-matrix debonding is modeled with a cohesive-zone model including samples redried after havingfriction. A comparison between numerical and experimental results is performed.