Multi-Scale Nonlinear Progressive Damage and Failure Analysis for Open-Hole Composite Laminates

Jian Shi,Mingbo Tong

doi:10.3390/aerospace9020059

Abstract

In order to study the nonlinear behaviors and interactions among the constituents for the composite material structure under the tensile load, multiscale damage model using generalized method of cells (GMC) and a lamina-level progressive damage model were established, respectively, for fiber reinforced composite laminates with a central hole, which were based on the thermodynamic Schapery Theory (ST) at either the micro-level or the lamina level. Once the nonlinear progressive degradation of the matrix material reached the lower limit value for the ST method, matrix failures naturally occurred, the failure of the fiber was determined by the maximum stress failure criterion. For the multiscale progressive damage model, the GMC model consisting of a fiber subcell and three matrix subcells was imposed at each integral point of FEM elements, and the three matrix subcells undergo independent damage evolution. The load versus displacement curves and failure modes of the open-hole laminates were predicted by using the two progressive failure models, and the results were compared with that obtained by the Hashin-Rotem progressive failure model and the experimental results. The results show that the ST based method can obtain the nonlinear progressive damage evolution states and failure states of the composite at both the lamina level and the multiscale level. Finally, the damage contours and failure paths obtained are also presented.

Highlights

Polymer matrix composites (PMCs) have been widely used in aircraft structures owing to their low weight, high strength, high resistance to fatigue, and many other superior advantages
Progressive damage analysis of composite laminates is regarded as an important and complex subject, which is highlighted by the World-Wide Failure Exercise (WWFE) [1,2,3]
Many criteria take different failure modes into account and incorporate progressive failure modeling [4,5,6], they are essentially phenomenological methods that cannot capture the interaction between the constituents at the microscale level

Summary

Introduction

Polymer matrix composites (PMCs) have been widely used in aircraft structures owing to their low weight, high strength, high resistance to fatigue, and many other superior advantages. Two progressive damage methods are used, one is ST/FF (Schapery Theory/Fiber Failure) method at the laminate level, the other is a multi-scale analysis method ST/GMC/FF (Schapery Theory/Generalized Method of Cells/Fiber Failure) at micro-scale level, both models contain a ST based degradation strategy of elastic properties for the matrix damage and the maximum stress failure criterion for the fiber failure, which are employed at either the lamina level or the micro level. The Schapery Theory can be used for the progressive damage analysis of the fiber reinforced composites, in which the total applied potential WT of the material is divided into the recoverable elastic part W and the dissipative part WS that can cause structural deformation [25]. The dissipated potential WS is alWloTw=edWto+beS a function of any number of intern(3a)l satgaeteaCnvadalrcfiuaaibllaluterisne,gamntehdcehddaifenfreiisrvmeantsit.viIenntooefrrndEaeqlrustatotaidtoeenvs(ca3rr)iibawebilttehhsercenasonpneblcientuetoaserSdpyrtoioegeldrxesps,lsaivine ddiaffmeraegnet damof the sminagtrliexinmteartnerailavl aorfiatbhleefSib[e2r5]r.eFinofrocrocendve∂c∂noWSimen=pcoe−s, iWt1ess,=WSscaisnabsesusemleecdtetdo, be of a (4)

Constitutive Relation

Calculating the Damage State

Generalized Method of Cells

Lamina Level Damage and Failure Model Based on ST

Lamina-Scale Failure Model-Based Hashin-Rotem Theory

Experimental Result