Definition of a Constitutive Material Model for Progressive Failure Analysis of Composite Laminates

Abstract

The aim of this work is to introduce a novel constitutive material model for the progressive failure analysis of composite laminates able to predict the Gradual degradation of laminates up to their complete failure. As a relevant added value with respect to state of the art constitutive models, the presented model uses energy considerations to avoid mesh and time-step dependences. In order to prove its effectiveness and accuracy, the proposed material constitutive model has been implemented in the FE software ANSYS© as a User defined material subroutine (USERMAT) and used to simulate the mechanical behavior of an Open Hole Tension specimen. The obtained numerical results have been compared to experimental literature data and to the numerical outputs of Instantaneous and Standard Gradual Degradation Models.