Viscoelastic analysis of bistable composite shells via absolute nodal coordinate formulation

Abstract

Material viscoelasticity may play a significant role in the bistable composite shells, especially after long-term stowage. This article investigates the influence of viscoelastic effects on the mechanical behaviors of bistable composite cylindrical shells in coiled state, for which a novel modeling approach for viscoelastic analysis in integral form of laminated composite shells is proposed based on the nonlinear continuum mechanics and the absolute nodal coordinate formulation. The model presented herein is also very appropriate for the dynamics analysis of deployment of bistable tape springs. Furthermore, an efficient calculation scheme of the highly nonlinear viscoelastic forces with hereditary integral is presented. By comparing the predictions of viscoelastic and elastic analyses for the radii, stresses distributions, and configurations of coiled shells, the effect of viscoelasticity on the second stable equilibrium is illustrated. The results show that relaxation behaviors of bistable composite shells at high strains are evident.