An efficient numerical model to predict fatigue damage behavior of carbon composites accounting for variations in ply thickness

Thin-ply (TP) laminates represent a significant advancement in the composite industry, primarily due to their enhanced mechanical performance and increased resistance to damage. However, understanding their behavior requires taking into account variations in ply thickness, as this variation can significantly influence strength, stiffness, and damage resistance. This consideration is especially critical in the modeling of fatigue damage in TP laminates. Although there are numerous fatigue damage models (FDMs) for TP laminates, they mostly use a layer-based approach, posing high computational challenges when analyzing very large structures. Considering this, the present study proposes a laminate-based numerical framework to efficiently predict the fatigue damage behavior of composites, inherently incorporating the influence of ply thickness. For the proposed FDM, the elastic properties are determined using a mean-field homogenization approach, and the effective fracture energies are calculated using the rule of mixtures. The model is then employed to simulate the fatigue life of laminates with ply thicknesses ranging from 30 to 360 µm. This novel modeling approach enables the simulation of fatigue life in homogenized laminates while accounting for ply thickness variations. The framework demonstrates both computational efficiency and precision, holding substantial promise for fatigue damage modeling in TP and conventional laminates. • An efficient laminate-based fatigue damage model (FDM) has been proposed. • The framework is effective for predicting the fatigue life of thin-ply (TP) laminates. • Mean-field homogenization is used to calibrate the laminate-level quasi-static parameters. • The calibrated finite element framework reliably predicts the fatigue life of TP composites. • The influence of ply thickness on fatigue life is accounted for within the proposed FDM.