Author(s)

Jacob M. Hundley, H. Thomas Hahn, Jenn-Ming Yang, Andrew B. Facciano

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This study presents the first stage of a multi-scale numerical framework designed to predict the non-linear constitutive behavior of metal-composite interfaces in titanium-graphite fiber metal laminates. Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction techniques are used to characterize the baseline physical and chemical state of the interface. The physics of adhesion between the metal and polymer matrix composite components are then evaluated on the atomistic scale using molecular dynamics simulations. Interfacial mechanical properties are subsequently derived from these simulations using classical mechanics and thermodynamics. These molecular-level property predictions are used in a companion study to parameterize a continuum-level finite element model of the interface by means of a traction-separation constitutive law. Extension of the proposed approach to other dissimilar metal- or metal oxide-polymer interfaces is also discussed.

Fiber Metal Laminates (FML), Titanium-Graphite (TiGr), Molecular Dynamics (MD), Adhesion

Hundley, J. , Hahn, H. , Yang, J. and Facciano, A. (2011) Multi-Scale Modeling of Metal-Composite Interfaces in Titanium-Graphite Fiber Metal Laminates Part I: Molecular Scale. Open Journal of Composite Materials, 1, 19-37. doi: 10.4236/ojcm.2011.11003.