An approximate formulation for the progressive failure analysis of a composite lattice cylindrical panel in aerospace applications

Abstract

This article defines the in-plane/bending displacement functions of a composite lattice cylindrical panel. Based on the continuous model, an approximate formulation is presented for conducting a progressive failure analysis for purposes of predicting the material failure and post-failure behaviour of the composite lattice cylindrical panel. This formulation is derived from the Ritz method and Hashin's failure criteria. The validity of the present method is verified by comparing the results of the finite element analysis and compression tests. Finally, we investigate the effects of the design parameters on the failure characteristics of the composite lattice cylindrical panels by parametric and sensitivity analyses based on the present method. The results allow a database to be obtained on the structural characteristics of composite lattice cylindrical panels for aerospace applications. Consequently, it is concluded that the approximate formulation is well suited to the progressive failure analysis of composite lattice cylindrical panels for aerospace applications due to their relative simplicity and computational efficiency.