Abstract
The paper analyzes the stability and failure phenomenon of compressed thin-walled composite columns. Thin-walled columns (top-hat and channel section columns) were made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite material (using the autoclave technique). An experimental study on actual structures and numerical calculations on computational models using the finite element method was performed. During the experimental study, post-critical equilibrium paths were registered with acoustic emission signals, in order to register the damage phenomenon. Simultaneously to the experimental tests, numerical simulations were performed using progressive failure analysis (PFA) and cohesive zone model (CZM). A measurable effect of the conducted experimental-numerical research was the analysis of the failure phenomenon, both for the top-hat and channel section columns (including delamination phenomenon). The main objective of this study was to be able to evaluate the delamination phenomenon, with further analysis of this phenomenon. The results of the numerical tests showed a compatibility with experimental tests.
Highlights
Thin-walled composite structures are often used as stiffening elements in aviation, automotive, or construction industries
In Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM), all types of damage are represented by the structural stiffness degradation [31,32]
Regarding the thin-walled structures made of composite materials, it is important to conduct analyses in the post-critical state—considering the failure phenomenon
Summary
Thin-walled composite structures are often used as stiffening elements in aviation, automotive, or construction industries. The subject literature has already described studies of the phenomenon of failure (including the phenomenon of delamination) of thin-walled composite materials Those studies are mainly based on the example of columns with top-hat cross-section [45], which have higher load capacity and different geometrical parameters than those in the current research. Current studies present a complex issue, with globally occurring cohesive zones between laminate layers and can be considered innovative in the context of delamination modeling [46,47,48,49,50,51] In this work, both experimental and numerical studies of failure of the thin-walled composite profiles (top-hat [16,17,24] and channel section profile [25]) were carried out. In case of experimental testing, a universal testing machine (UTM) and acoustic emission method (AEM) were used [55]
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