A thermodynamically-based work potential theory for modelling progressive damage and failure in fibre-reinforced laminates is presented. The current, multiple-internal state variable (ISV) formulation, enhanced Schapery theory, utilises separate ISVs for modelling the effects of damage and failure. Damage is considered to be the effect of any structural changes in a material that manifest as pre-peak non-linearity in the stress versus strain response. Conversely, failure is taken to be the effect of the evolution of any mechanisms that results in post-peak strain softening. It is assumed, matrix microdamage is the dominant damage mechanism in continuous, fibre-reinforced, polymer matrix laminates, and its evolution is captured with a single ISV. Three additional ISVs are introduced to account for failure due to mode I transverse cracking, mode II transverse cracking, and mode I axial failure. Using the stationarity of the total work potential with respect to each ISV, a set of thermodynamically consistent evolution equations for the ISVs is derived. Typically, failure evolution (i.e. post-peak strain softening) results in pathologically mesh dependent solutions within a finite element method numerical setting. Therefore, consistent characteristic element lengths are introduced into the formulation of of the three failure potentials. The theory is implemented into commercial FEM software. The model is verified against experimental results from a laminated, quasi-isotropic, T800/3900-2 panel containing a central notch. Global load versus displacement, global load versus local strain gauge data, and macroscopic failure paths obtained from the models are compared to the experiments. Finally, a sensitivity study is performed on the failure parameters used in the model.

This article presents the findings of a study to investigate the impact perforation resistance of sandwich structures. The dynamic response of sandwich panels based on PVC foam cores has been evaluated by determining the energy to perforate the panels. The impact response of the sandwich structures was predicted using the finite element analysis package Abaqus/Explicit. The validated FE models were also used to investigate the effect of oblique loading and to study the impact response of sandwich panels subjected to a pressure differential equivalent to flying at an altitude of 10,000m.

Low velocity impact testing has shown that the energy to perforate the sandwich panels is dependent on the properties of the core. It has been shown that increasing the density of the crosslinked PVC foams by a factor of two yielded a 600% increase in the perforation resistance of the sandwich structures. At higher densities, the crosslinked foam sandwich structures offered a superior perforation resistance to the linear PVC structures. The numerical analysis accurately predicted the perforation energies of the sandwich panels, as well as the prevailing failure mechanisms following impact. Finally, it has been shown that sandwich panels impacted at high altitude offer a similar perforation resistance to those tested at sea level.

This paper describes the computation of stress intensity factors (SIFs) for cracks in functionally graded materials (FGMs) using an extended element-free Galerkin (XEFG) method. The SIFs are extracted through the crack closure integral (CCI) with a local smoothing technique, non-equilibrium and incompatibility formulations of the interaction integral and the displacement method. The results for mode I and mixed mode case studies are presented and compared with those available in the literature. They are found to be in good agreement where the average absolute error for the CCI with local smoothing, despite its simplicity, yielded a high level of accuracy.

Sandwich panels are widely used in the aerospace industry instead of solid plates due to their high flexural stiffness-to-weight and flexural strength-to-weight ratios. However due to the mismatch of properties between the face sheets and the core, stress concentrations can occur at the face sheet/core interfaces, often leading to delamination. One possible solution to this problem is the introduction of a graded core — a core in which the properties vary gradually from the face sheets to the core centre, eliminating any abrupt changes in properties. In this paper a 3D finite element method, fully validated through comparison with results from the literature and a 3D elasticity solution, is applied to modelling of sandwich panels with graded core. The approach makes use of graded elements to study the effect of varying the boundary conditions on the elastic deformation of the panel subject to uniformly distributed loading. Comparative analysis of stress and displacement fields in sandwich panels with homogeneous and graded cores is carried out under various combinations of simply supported, clamped and free edges.

A combination of uniaxial compression tests and Strip Model and Finite Element analyses of laminates artificially delaminated to create circular (±θ) sublaminates is used to assess the influence of fibre angle on the compressive strength of composite laminates.

Sublaminates with 0° < θ < 40° are found to fail by sublaminate-buckling-driven delamination propagation and provide poor tolerance of delamination. This is a consequence of their relatively high axial stiffnesses, low sublaminate buckling strains, Poisson’s ratio induced compressive transverse strains and extension-twist coupling which produces unexpected sublaminate buckling mode shapes. Sublaminates with 40° < θ < 60° are most tolerant to delamination; axial and transverse stiffnesses are minimal, formation of sublaminate buckles is resisted, high laminate buckling strains reduce interaction between laminate and sublaminate buckling mode shapes and extension-twist coupling is minimal. Sublaminates with 60° < θ < 90° are shown to produce varied tolerance of delamination. Sublaminate buckling is generally prevented owing to transverse tensile strains induced by mismatches between laminate and sublaminate Poisson’s ratios but may occur in laminates with low Poisson’s ratios.

In this work, stress-based and fracture mechanics criteria were developed to predict initiation and evolution, respectively, of intra- and inter-laminar cracking developed in composite laminates subjected to low velocity impact. The Soutis shear stress-strain semi-empirical model was used to describe the nonlinear shear behaviour of the composite. The damage model was implemented in the finite element (FE) code (Abaqus/Explicit) by a user-defined material subroutine (VUMAT). Delamination (or inter-laminar cracking) was modelled using interface cohesive elements and the splitting and transverse matrix cracks that appeared within individual plies were also simulated by inserting cohesive elements between neighbouring elements parallel to the fibre direction in each single layer. A good agreement was obtained when compared the numerically predicted results to experimentally obtained curves of impact force and absorbed energy versus time. A non-destructive technique (NDT), penetrant enhanced X-ray radiography, was used to observe the various damage mechanisms induced by impact. It has been shown that the proposed damage model can successfully capture the internal damage pattern and the extent to which it was developed in these carbon fibre/epoxy composite laminates.

This paper reviews findings on the type, morphology and constitutive behaviour of impact damage zones during loading after impact and their effect on the laminate strength and stability. The paper is limited to tape prepreg based monolithic laminates, although some similarities exist with impact damage in textile based laminates. Damage zones have a complex geometry with several damage types, which results in an interaction and competition between different failure mechanisms, e.g. local and global buckling, compressive failure, and delamination growth. Hence, simplified damage models may provide incorrect predictions of the failure load and failure mechanisms after impact. The constitutive behaviour of damage zones has been studied experimentally in tension and compression using an inverse method, and the results have been compared with detailed FE models of a generic impact damage. The paper is concluded with a discussion on analytical and computational models to predict the resulting strength of impacted laminates.

A numerical model is developed for predicting low-velocity impact damage in laminated composites. Stacked shell elements are employed to model laminate plies with discrete interface elements in pre-determined zones to model the onset and propagation of matrix cracks and delamination. These interface elements are governed by a bi-linear cohesive failure law. Cohesive element zone size is determined by a separate finite element analysis using solid elements to identify the stress concentration sites. In order to save the computational effort, low-velocity impact load is modelled by quasi-static loading. Influence of contact force induced friction on shear driven mode II delamination is modelled by a friction model. For a clustered cross-ply laminate, calculated impact force and damage area are in good agreement with the test results. It is shown that matrix cracks should be included in the model in order to simulate delamination in adjacent interface. The practical outcome of this research is a validated modelling approach that can be further improved for predicting low-velocity impact damage in other stacking sequences.