Damage and Fracture of Polymer Composites

Submission Deadline: 31 August 2025 View: 198 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editors

Dr. MD Salah Uddin

Email: uddin_m@utpb.edu

Affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, The University of Texas Permian Basin, 4901 E University Blvd, Odessa, TX 79762, USA

Homepage:

Research Interests: Multi-scale modelling, heterogeneous material

Summary

Polymer composites are essential in industries such as aerospace, automotive, construction, and marine due to their high specific strength and modulus. Understanding the mechanisms of damage initiation and fracture in these materials is crucial for enhancing their performance and reliability.

Damage in composites begins at the microstructural level and propagates through complex mechanisms influenced by factors like the dispersion, volume fraction, size, and shape of the reinforcing agents within the matrix. This process may involve material and geometric nonlinearities, as well as plasticity.

Stress transmission from the load-bearing reinforcing elements to the matrix, progressing through the lamina and laminate to the component level, often encompasses multi-scale phenomena. Experimental characterizations can be used to investigate continuum damage mechanics (CDM) corresponding to the failure of matrix, reinforcing agents, or interfacial decohesion. 

A fracture mechanics approach can be employed to study crack propagation in composites under various loading conditions. While the composites are under extreme applications with severe atmospheric conditions such as high temperature or with the presence of moisture, the failure mode could be complex and may involve mixed modes of failure.

This special issue aims to explore the damage and fracture behaviors of polymer composites under diverse loading conditions using experimental techniques.

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