An effective finite element modeling approach for prediction of the behaviour of a jute fibre-reinforced composite tube under axial impact

Abstract

The focus of the work reported here is on the prediction of the behaviour of a hollow cylindrical jute– polyester composite tube under axial impact using the explicit finite element analysis code, LS-DYNA. An efficient finite element modelling approach using a single shell element through the thickness of a thin-walled structural part has been chosen. Effective orthotropic material properties of a laminate which can be determined through standard ASTM tests have been used as input data for a popular constitutive model titled ‘Enhanced Composite Damage’ with the option of specifying either the Chang–Chang criteria or the Tsai–Wu criterion for failure. A unique feature of the current approach is to verify the modeling procedure initially for coupon-level tensile, compressive and flexural tests through a numerical design of experiments involving a set of physically meaningful fibre and matrix failure strain parameters, and then extend the same toward successfully predicting the mechanical behaviour of a jute composite tube subject to axial drop-weight impact. Theoretical predictions of peak responses for flexural and tube impact tests are also presented.