Determination of the crack arrest in a particle reinforced composite material under uniform tensile load

In this study, finite element analyses are performed to determine the crack arrest in a particle reinforced composite. The composite, which is subjected to a uniaxial loading of 30% applied strain, is assumed to have 5% particle volume fraction. To consider the effect of particle size while simplifying the analyses, a unit cell including two large particles and one small particle is considered in the numerical modeling. The present investigation shows that the crack growth behavior strongly depends on the local stress field in the composite. The cause of the crack arrest has been identified by delineating local stress field near the crack tip. Parametric studies are also conducted by varying the modulus value of the outer layer of the particle. This study presents a fundamental understanding for the complex failure behavior of particle composite at the macro/meso scales.