Multicontinuum Technology for Hybrid and Textile Composites

We report recent developments in multicontinuum theory (MCT) focused on multiscale material models that enable the simulation of progressive failure of structures composed of hybrid or textile reinforced composite materials. Recent accomplishments include: a) a demonstration that the constituent average stress states that are obtained using MCT provide superior correlation with initial failure events observed in a triaxial braid composite, and b) numerical demonstration that the MCT decomposition process can be pragmatically extended from a simple unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite material to a plain weave composite material. These results indicate the value and efficacy of extending MCT to more complex composite micro/meso-scale materials. Ongoing efforts are enabling general application of MCT for structural-level finite element progressive failure modeling that will allow the designer to more fully exploit the unique characteristics of complex composite materials.