A Bridging Cell Multiscale Methodology to Model the Structural Behaviour of Polymer Matrix Composites

Composite and nanocomposite materials exhibit behaviour which is inherently multiscale, extending from the atomistic to continuum levels. In composites, damage growth tends to occur at the nano and microstructural scale by means of crack growth and fibre-matrix debonding. Concurrent multiscale modeling provides a means of efficiently solving such localized phenomena, however its use in this application has been limited due to a number of existing issues in the multiscale field. These include the seamless transfer of information between continuum and atomistic domains, the small timesteps required for dynamic simulation, and limited research into concurrent multiscale modeling of amorphous polymeric materials. The objective of this thesis is thus twofold: to formulate a generalized approach to solving a coupled atomistic-to-continuum system that addresses these issues and to extend the application space of concurrent multiscale modeling to damage modeling in composite microstructures.;To achieve these objectives, a finite element based multiscale technique termed the Bridging Cell Method (BCM), has been formulated with a focus on crystalline material systems. Case studies are then presented that show the effectiveness of the developed technique with respect to full atomistic simulations. The BCM is also demonstrated for applications of stress around a nanovoid, nanoindentation, and crack growth due to monotonic and cyclic loading.;Next, the BCM is extended to modeling amorphous polymeric material systems where an adaptive solver and a two-step iterative solution algorithm are introduced. Finally, the amorphous and crystalline BCM is applied to modeling a polymer-graphite interface. This interface model is used to obtain cohesive zone parameters which are used in a cohesive zone model of fibre-matrix interfacial cracking in a composite microstructure. This allows for an investigation of the temperature dependent damage mechanics from the nano to microscale within polymer matrix composites due to transverse loading. Results from the simulations indicate that the BCM creates a seamless coupling between continuum and atomistic domains for crystalline material systems while substantially reducing force imbalance for amorphous material systems. Multiscale simulation results of the composite microstructure indicated that the model accurately predicted both quantitative (elastic modulus, strength, stress-strain response) and qualitative behaviour when compared to experimental results from the literature.