Strength and Failure Criteria

Composite Strength
and Failure Criteria

Micromechanics of failure in a
unidirectional ply
In the fibre direction (‘1’), we assume
equal strain in fibre and matrix. The
applied stress is shared:
1 = f V f + m V m
Failure of the composite depends on

whether the fibre or the matrix reaches its
failure strain first.
Failure in longitudinal tension
 
   Vf
1T f
Failure in longitudinal compression
• Failure is difficult to model, as it may be associated with different
modes of failure, including fibre buckling and matrix shear.
• Composite strength depends not only on fibre properties, but also
on the ability of the matrix to support the fibres.
• Measurement of compressive strength is particularly difficult -
results depend heavily on method and specimen geometry.
Failure in longitudinal compression
 Em 


1C  2 f Vf  1  Vf  
 E f 
Microbuckling
Shear failure mode

Failure in transverse tension
High stress/strain
concentrations
occur around fibre,
leading to interface
failure. Individual
microcracks
eventually
coalesce...
Failure in transverse compression
May be due to one or
more of:
• compressive
failure/crushing of
matrix
• compressive
failure/crushing of
fibre
• matrix shear
• fibre/matrix
debonding
Failure by in-plane shear
Due to stress concentration

at fibre-matrix interface:
Five numbers are needed to characterise
the strength of a composite lamina:
1T* longitudinal tensile strength
1C* longitudinal compressive strength
2T* transverse tensile strength
2C* transverse compressive strength
* in-plane shear strength
‘1’ and ‘2’ denote the principal material
directions; * indicates a failure value of stress.
Typical composite strengths (MPa)
UD CFRP UD GRP woven GRP SiC/Al
1T* 2280 1080 367 1462

1C* 1440 620 549 2990
2T* 57 39 367 86
2C* 228 128 549 285
* 71 89 97 113
The use of Failure Criteria
• It is clear that the mode of failure and hence the
apparent strength of a lamina depends on the
direction of the applied load, as well as the
properties of the material.
• Failure criteria seek to predict the apparent
strength of a composite and its failure mode in
terms of the basic strength data for the lamina.
• It is usually necessary to calculate the stresses in
the material axes (1-2) before criteria can be
applied.
Maximum stress failure criterion
Failure will occur when any one of the stress
components in the principal material axes
(1, 2, 12) exceeds the corresponding strength
in that direction.
 1T * ( 1  0) 
 1   C* 
  1 ( 1  0)
Formally, failure occurs if:
 2T * ( 2  0) 
 2   C* 
  2 ( 2  0)
 12   12
*
All stresses are independent. If the lamina experiences
biaxial stresses, the failure envelope is a rectangle -
the existence of stresses in one direction doesn’t make
the lamina weaker when stresses are added in the
other...
Maximum stress failure envelope
2
2T*
1
1T*
1C*
2C*
Orientation dependence of strength
The maximum stress criterion can be

used to show how apparent strength and
failure mode depend on orientation:
 1   x cos2  2
 2   x sin 
2 1
x
 12   x sin cos  12
At failure, the applied stress (x) must be
large enough for one of the principal
stresses (1, 2 or 12) to have reached
its failure value.
Observed failure will occur when the
minimum such stress is applied:
 1* cos2  
 * 
 x  min  2 sin 
* 2

 * 
 12 sin cos 
 1* cos2  Off-axis tensile strength (E-glass/epoxy)
1500  12* sin cos

1250
strength (MPa)
1000
long tension
750 in-plane shear
trans tension
500
250
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
reinforcement angle  2* sin2 
Daniel & Ishai (1994)
• Indicates likely failure mode.

• Requires separate comparison of
resolved stresses with failure stresses.
• Allows for no interaction in situations of
non-uniaxial stresses.
Maximum strain failure criterion
Failure occurs when at least one of the
strain components (in the principal material
axes) exceeds the ultimate strain.
1T * (1  0) 
1   C * 
 1 (1  0)
 2T * ( 2  0) 
 2   C* 
  2 ( 2  0)
 12   12 *
Maximum strain failure criterion
The criterion allows for interaction of
stresses through Poisson’s effect.
For a lamina subjected to stresses 1, 2,
12, the failure criterion is:
 1T * , 1  0
 1   12 2   C *
  1 , 1  0
 2T * ,  2  0
 2   21 1   C *
  2 ,  2  0
 12   12*
Maximum strain failure envelope
For biaxial stresses (12 = 0), the failure
envelope is a parallelogram:
2
1
Maximum strain failure envelope
In the positive quadrant, the maximum
stress criterion is more conservative than
maximum strain.
max strain
2
The longitudinal tensile
stress 1 produces a
compressive strain 2.
This allows a higher value max stress
of 2 before the failure
strain is reached.
1
Tsai-Hill Failure Criterion
• This is one example of many criteria

which attempt to take account of
interactions in a multi-axial stress state.
• Based on von Mises yield criterion,
‘failure’ occurs if:
2 2 2
  1   1 2   2    12 
 *     *    *   1

 1 1
* 2
  2    12 
Tsai-Hill Failure Criterion
• A single calculation is required to determine failure.
• The appropriate failure stress is used, depending on
whether  is +ve or -ve.
• The mode of failure is not given (although inspect the
size of each term).
• A stress reserve factor (R) can be calculated by setting
2 2 2
  1   1 2   2    12  1
 *     *    *   2

 1 1
* 2
  2    12  R
The Tsai-Hill criterion can be used to

show how apparent strength depends on
orientation:
 1   x cos2  2
 2   x sin 
2 1
x
 12   x sin cos  12
UD E-glass/epoxy
1200
apparent strength (MPa)
1000
800 long tension
trans tension
600
shear
400 Tsai-Hill
200
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
angle (o )
Tsai-Hill Failure Envelope
• For all ‘quadratic’ failure criteria, the
biaxial envelope is elliptical.
• The size of the ellipse depends on the
value of the shear stress:
2
1
12 = 0
12 > 0
Comparison of failure theories
• Different theories are reasonably close
under positive stresses.
• Big differences occur when
compressive stresses are present.
A conservative
approach is to
consider all
available
theories:

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Strength and Failure Criteria

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Composite Strength

and Failure Criteria

Failure of the composite depends on

Shear failure mode

Due to stress concentration

UD CFRP UD GRP woven GRP SiC/Al

1T* 2280 1080 367 1462

The maximum stress criterion can be

 1* cos2  Off-axis tensile strength (E-glass/epoxy)

1500  12* sin cos

• Indicates likely failure mode.

• This is one example of many criteria

The Tsai-Hill criterion can be used to

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