A finite element analysis of a planar carbon/fibre/epoxy model composite: 2-D versus 3-D

A finite element (FE) analysis of a model composite consisting of five carbon fibres aligned parallel in an epoxy matrix was performed. Firstly, for the case of a three-dimensional (3-D) FE analysis, the dependency of the amount of matrix on the stress concentration in fibres adjacent to a fibre break was investigated. It was found that a minimum amount of matrix is needed to calculate properly the stresses in a model composite. Secondly, a comparison between a two-dimensional (2-D) and a 3-D FE analysis of a model composite was made. The investigation showed that such a 2-D FE analysis produces qualitative information of the stresses in a model composite only