Puck Criteria Research Articles

Assessment of damage prediction models for composite laminates under single and repeated low-velocity impacts

The aim is to explore the influence of damage initiation criteria and evolution methods on the damage prediction for composite laminates under single and repeated low-velocity impacts. A 3D finite element model is established to analyze the impact behavior of laminate, and a damage analysis process including the initiation determination, progressive evolution, and constitutive relationship is designed. Hashin criterion based on tensile strain for matrix is modified by an empirical assumption method. Besides, the quantitative evolution of damage area during impact is studied, which provides a new perspective for elucidating the damage mechanism. The numerical model is first validated against the available experimental data. The influence of initiation criteria and evolution methods on damage prediction is then performed in two-phase research. The first phase discusses the prediction capabilities of different combinations under single impact. In the second phase, a method for removing residual vibrations under repeated impacts is proposed. The differences caused by the removal and non-removal of residual vibrations are analyzed, and the sensitivity of these differences to various combinations is discussed. Results show that the numerical prediction agrees well with the experiment in dynamic mechanical response curve. Combining Hashin-Strain criterion with linear equivalent strain method and Puck criterion with exponential equivalent displacement method yields optimal results. Moreover, the sensitivity to differences caused by the residual vibrations effects is related to the initiation criterion, and the evolution method.

Tensile assessment of woven CFRP using finite element method: A benchmarking and preliminary study for thin-walled structure application

Abstract Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRPs) are a composite material popular for thin-walled structure applications because of their advantages over other materials. In this study, numerical simulation analysis based on the finite-element method to identify the tensile behavior of CFRP woven material has been carried out. The method used has been verified and validated using a benchmarking procedure with the results of previous research. Errors in the simulation results are less than 10%, indicating a valid method that can be used for further research. The stress–strain distribution of each layer, the effect of ply orientation on tensile strength, the comparison of failure criteria used, and the comparison of several types of reinforcements often used have been investigated. The results showed that the characteristics of each inner layer received tensile loading visualized in the form of stress strains. Choosing the right layer angle on CFRP woven can affect the performance and strength of the material. Failure criteria that are appropriate to specific application conditions are important. Puck criteria can be used for simple applications, which require only the analysis of the main stresses in the material. Tsai–Hill and Tsai–Wu criteria can provide more accurate predictions and are better suited for loading conditions and more complex material types. Carbon fiber has better characteristics when compared to S-glass and E-glass.

A low-cost multiscale model with fiber/matrix interface for cryogenic composite storage tanks considering temperature effects based on self-consistent clustering analysis

Matrix (including interface) failure is a typical form of failure in the composite laminates for cryogenic storage tanks causing functionally useless of the structure. In this work, a low-cost multiscale model based on the Self-consistent Clustering Analysis (SCA) method is developed to predict the matrix failure process of the composite storage tanks. First, a reduced order model modeling method with fiber/matrix interfaces is proposed. Then, in conjunction with Progressive Failure Analysis (PFA), a reduced-order model is used to predict matrix failure and interface failure of the composites, mesh sensitivity analyses were carried out, and strength damage envelopes were obtained for unidirectional composites subjected to a combination of transverse stresses and in-plane shear. Compared with the prediction results of the Puck criterion, the errors in predicting damage strength for compressive-shear load and tensile-shear load do not exceed 10% and 30%, respectively. And finally, the thermal-mechanical load analysis of the composite storage tanks is carried out and the effect of homogenous temperature field and heterogenous temperature field on the load-bearing performance of the composite structure is analyzed. The method is proved to have good accuracy and to be very efficient. Its main feature is the ability to rapidly predict the stiffness and strength properties of composite structures under different environmental conditions, in agreement with experimental results, showing the potential to reduce the time and cost required for structural design.

An Anisotropic Damage-Plasticity Constitutive Model of Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Polymers.

Accurate structural analyses of continuous fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) are imperative for diverse engineering applications, demanding efficient material constitutive models. Nonetheless, the constitutive modeling of FRPs is complicated by the nonlinear behavior resulting from internal damages and the inherent plasticity. Consequently, this study presents an innovative anisotropic constitutive model for FRPs, designed to adeptly capture both the damage evolution and plasticity. All requisite parameters can be easily obtained through fundamental mechanical tests, rendering the model practical and user-friendly. The model utilizes the three-dimensional Puck criteria to determine damages, initiating the evolution process through a combination of continuum damage mechanics and linear stiffness attenuation methods. This evolution is coupled with a one-parameter plastic model. Subsequently, the numerical implementation method, integrated into ANSYS, is detailed. This emphasizes the Cauchy stress and consistent tangent stiffness solution strategy. Finally, the effectiveness of the developed model is demonstrated through comprehensive verification, encompassing existing biaxial tension and open-hole-tension tests conducted on carbon and glass FRP laminates. The simulation results exhibit a remarkable correspondence with the experimental data, validating the reliability and accuracy of the proposed model.

Phenomenological failure criteria analysis of a composite bolted joint under multi-axial loading using the finite element method

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites (CFRP) are commonly used in various sectors due to their excellent properties. However, they present complex failure modes, particularly in bolted joints, which are widely used in the aeronautical industry due to their ease of assembly and disassembly. Phenomenological failure criteria can be used to evaluate failure modes analytically and reduce the number of experimental tests. It is important to determine the criterion that best reflects reality. The Hashin, Puck, and LaRC04 failure criteria were evaluated using a finite element method software - FEMAP 2021.2 educational version - through simulation. Numerical simulations were conducted on a 2D model of a carbon/epoxy composite bolted joint under multiaxial loads, following ASTM D5661 dimensions. The failure criteria were compared to determine the most appropriate one for this type of component. Among the evaluated criteria, the Hashin criterion showed an intermediate level, while the Puck criterion was the most conservative and the LaRC04 criterion was the least conservative. It is recommended to use the Hashin criterion for general analyses. For analyses that require a detailed examination of compression failure modes, it is recommended to use the LaRC04 criterion. The Puck criterion is suggested for more conservative analyses.

Low-velocity impact and post-impact compression properties of carbon/glass hybrid yacht composite materials

In the field of maritime engineering, low-velocity impact (1-10 ms−1) is typically regarded as a quasi-static event. During navigation, yachts are inevitably subjected to low-velocity impact from floating objects in the water, and may also encounter compression after low-velocity impact. This study employs a combined approach of numerical simulation and experimental testing, aiming to investigate the damage and failure mechanisms of yacht composite laminates under conditions of low-velocity impact and post-impact compression (CAI), and by SEM and ultrasonic C-scanning the damage characteristics of different layup samples was studied in impact and compression tests. In order to conduct a more in-depth study on the damage evolution and failure mechanisms of yacht composite laminates, a three-dimensional damage model is established based on the continuum damage mechanics, and a physico-mechanical failure criterion combining the 3D Hashin and Puck criteria is employed. This criterion is used to capture the initiation points of damage in both fibers and matrix. Additionally, a bi-linear damage constitutive relationship is utilized to describe the damage evolution. Interlayer delamination is addressed through simulating the bonding behavior of interfaces. The numerical results show good correlation with the experimental results, which validates the effectiveness and rationality of the proposed numerical model. The study shows that laying carbon fiber cloth in the middle of the sample exhibits excellent impact resistance; laying carbon fiber cloth at the bottom exhibits better deformation resistance and stronger residual compression performance. Considering the three aspects of deformation, residual strength, and damage area, laying carbon fiber cloth in the first layer exhibits better mechanical properties, which provides useful reference for the design and manufacture of yacht materials and helps to improve the safety and reliability of yachts.

Investigation on the off-axis tensile failure behaviors of 3D woven composites through a coupled numerical-experimental approach

Computational models with high precision and efficiency are in urgent need for the damage analyses of 3D angle-interlock woven composites which are widely accepted in composites industry. A novel concurrent multi-scale damage evolution modeling scheme is established based on a meso-scale representative volume cell (RVC) model and the multiphase finite element method to characterize the off-axis tensile response of carbon/epoxy composites. Modified Puck criterion and maximum shear stress criterion are adopted for fiber yarns. Parabolic yield criterion is adopted for the matrix. The fiber breakage, the inter-fiber fracture and matrix cracking are considered at mesoscopic level. To validate the proposed multi-scale damage model, off-axis tensile test is conducted with the help of 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC) method. A reasonably good agreement is achieved between numerical predictions and experimental observations. Furthermore, the validated damage model is used to predict the tensile response of the composites considering full range on-axis and off-axis angles.

Assessment of numerical modeling approaches for thin composite laminates under low-velocity impact

Low-velocity impact behaviors of carbon/epoxy composite laminates have been widely investigated in recent years by using various numerical modeling approaches in which the specific damage initiation criterion, damage evolution method and interface model were employed. However, the computation accuracies of these approaches have rarely been compared and reported. To explore a high-precision modeling approach for low-velocity impact behaviors of laminated composites, numerical study focusing on a comparison of different failure criteria (Hashin/Puck), evolution methods (sudden/linear/exponential) and interface models (zero-thickness cohesive elements/finite-thickness cohesive elements/cohesive contact) was conducted. The dynamic mechanical responses and damage behaviors predicted by different modeling approaches were compared. A new damage index DˆI was proposed to characterize the extent of damage accumulation in each layer of laminates. The results indicate that the impact responses of the material are more influenced by the evolution methods rather than the failure criteria. The numerical results predicted with Puck criterion, linear evolution method, and finite-thickness cohesive elements are in the best agreement with the experimental data.

A transverse failure criterion for unidirectional composites based on the Puck failure surface theory

Puck criterion, a transverse failure criterion for composites, has more applications in engineering, but the empirical nature of its mathematical expression and the complexity of its parameters hinder its further development. In this work, a failure function is proposed based on the Puck hypothesis. According to the parameters of composites in special states, two modes of transverse tension and compression are distinguished, the pending coefficients in the failure function are derived, and then a transverse failure criterion for composites is formulated. The proposed criterion was evaluated experimentally in terms of envelope curves and off-axis strength using the existing data in the literature, and was compared with several other criteria. The results show that the proposed criterion is in good agreement with the experimental data, and its prediction accuracy ranks high among several criteria, demonstrating the rationality of the proposed criterion. Additionally, the effect of material parameters on the proposed criterion is analyzed and the results show that changes in transverse tensile and compressive strength can change the strengthening effect of transverse compression against in-plane shear, while changes in in-plane shear strength cannot change the strengthening effect. This work provides a correction method for the Puck criterion, which has a more rational mathematical expression with fewer parameters and can be used in the design of engineering composite structures, which has significant design reference value and theoretical significance.

Progressive damage analysis and experiments of open-hole composite laminates subjected to compression loads

Due to the stress concentration caused by the hole, failure of composite structures is prone to start in the vicinity of the hole edge. Thereby, it is very necessary to investigate the failure of open-hole composite laminates. In the present work, a user subroutine element in the commercial software ABAQUS is proposed for the progressive damage analysis of open-hole composite laminates subjected to compression loads. The proposed element is constructed by making use of the third-order shear deformation theory in conjunction with a two-dimensional progressive damage model. The fiber kink model and Puck criterion are introduced for failure analysis of fiber and matrix, respectively. The element weakening method is also utilized to predict the damage evolution of open-hole composite laminates subjected to compression loads. To verify the reliability of the proposed model, the compression tests of open-hole composite laminates have been carried out. The percentage error of failure load predicted by the proposed element relative to the experimental result is 6.1%. Furthermore, the proposed element presents the damage evolution of fiber and matrix for the lamina with different stacking angles. It is observed that the fiber and matrix damage occurs firstly at the hole edge for the 45 and 0 degree plies, and the damage propagates along the 45 degree direction. This method can contribute to exploring the failure mechanism of open-hole composite laminates, which can also serve as a reference for the design of composite structures.

On Nonlinear First Ply Failure Study of Laminated Composite Thin Skewed Hypar Shell Roofs

The skewed hypar shells have gained immense popularity in practical civil engineering fields due their highly aesthetic look. Light weight laminated composite material has increased its wide acceptance day by day in practical structures by virtue of superior material properties like high strength, high stiffness to weight ratio, prolonged fatigue life etc. Different types of bending as well as free and force vibration studies of laminated composite skewed hypar shells were done by earlier researchers. In some literatures, the first ply failure was also investigated using geometric linear strains only. So, the present paper aims to study the first ply failure behaviour of laminated composite skewed hypar shell roofs considering geometric nonlinearity. An eight noded isoparametric curved finite element having five degrees of freedom at each node is used here for finite element method. To establish the correctness of the present approach different benchmark problems are solved in this paper. Various types of lamina stacking sequences are taken up by the authors’ problems for first ply failure analysis of symmetric and antisymmetric skewed hypar thin shells with practical boundary condition. Along with the maximum stress and maximum strain failure criteria the authors use interactive failure criteria like Hoffman, Tsai-Hill and Tsai-Wu criteria as well as failure mode based criteria like Hashin and Puck criteria for the present study. The results obtained from this numerical investigation are analysed and post processed from different engineering standpoints to extract meaningful conclusions regarding first ply failure behaviour of the composite skewed hypar thin shells and to arrive at important practical guidelines which are expected to be beneficial for practicing civil engineers.

Puck's Criterion for the tensile response of composite laminates: A numerical approach

Material designers have extensively analyzed, utilizing failure theories, the dependability and service response of composite materials for their intended uses. To increase the precision and accuracy of performance prediction, failure theories have undergone numerous revisions. The current study uses the finite element method to predict the tensile response while also using Puck's failure criterion and the damage evolution law to composite laminates. Five non-hybrid sequences made of paperboard, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), glass fibre, aramid fibre, and carbon fibre have been put through experimental investigation of tensile and three-point bending. The numerical analysis has been carried out using the Material Designer, ACP® and Structural Analysis modules of ANSYS® finite element software. The experimental results have been compared with the numerical results, to arrive at the set of empirical constants for the different materials.

Investigation on the compressive mechanical properties of ultra-thick CFRP laminates

The damage mechanism of ultra-thick laminates widely used in aerospace and marine industries was obviously different from that of thin laminates. However, compression testing and simulation methods were generally limited to relatively thin laminates. To explore the compressive failure behavior of ultra-thick laminates, Firstly, a layered pre-compaction scheme was proposed to ensure the curing quality of ultra-thick laminates. A heavy-duty compression test equipment (accuracy reached 0.001 mm) was then developed, and a novel compression test method for ultra-thick composite laminates was proposed. The results showed that delamination played a key role in the failure behavior of ultra-thick laminates. The low interlaminar normal strength of ultra-thick laminates (55% of the 2 mm thin laminate) led to premature delamination, and wrinkle defects seriously reduced the compressive strength (11%). The compressive behavior for the matrix-dominant failure specimen predicted by the Puck criterion was the smallest (0.07%), while Tsai-Wu 3D predicted the smallest error (5.1%) for the delamination-dominant specimen. Finally, these findings are helpful for the design of ultra-thick composite structures.

Assessment of structural integrity of thermoset composite parts subjected to accelerated cooling during the manufacturing process using Puck criteria for failure initiation

For many applications, the production of large-scale lightweight parts using composite materials requires a curing stage at elevated temperatures with long cycles resulting from necessary heating and cooling steps. Here, an accelerated cooling stage after curing of the matrix can shorten process times and make it possible to demould the components in a hot state. In this paper, the impact of higher cooling rates on residual stresses and strains and the criticality for internal failures are investigated. A literature model using the pultrusion process including thick laminates and the interaction with a production tool was used for the implementation of a thermochemical calculation and an incremental linear-elastic mechanical model to calculate residual stresses induced during manufacturing stage. This way, the capability of flexible simulation environments for handling state of the art calculation schemes is investigated to allow the extension of the physics of those models. The model is implemented in both a representative environment for advanced structural analysis with highly customised element formulation such as Abaqus and a general-purpose FE package. Here, Comsol Multiphysics is used and extended by the calculation of the inter-fibre failure initiation. Using the proposed models applied to a plate geometry, stresses and strains induced in different cooling scenarios are investigated. The assumptions are validated by simulations including the whole curing process, by manufacturing trials on the coupon level and with mechanical tests.

Verification of Puck's criterion for CFRP laminates under multiaxial loads at ambient and cryogenic temperatures

Objective of the present study is the verification of Puck's failure criterion for multiaxial mechanical loading situations in the ambient and cryogenic thermal regimes. The assessment is based on the material data and the failure envelope determined in a previous study on uniaxially loaded single-ply specimens study. Here, the pre-existing experimental data base is complemented by experiments on specimens made from angle ply laminates featuring holes, tapered sections and combinations thereof. The specimens were tested at ambient temperature and in a liquid Helium environment at 4.2 K. For determination of the local stress states in the individual plies at the stress concentrations induced by the holes and tapered sections, the experiments were simulated numerically by the finite element method. It is found that Puck's criterion in most cases provides conservative results. Unresolved additional safety margins may develop if a structural failure in an inter-fiber mode requires development of larger delaminations of adjacent plies to form a through crack.

A reliable progressive fatigue damage model for life prediction of composite laminates incorporating an adaptive cyclic jump algorithm

In this paper, a reliable progressive fatigue damage model (PFDM) for predicting the fatigue life of composite laminates is proposed by combining the normalized fatigue life model, nonlinear residual degradation models and fatigue-improved Puck criterion. To balance the accuracy of life predictions and computational efficiency, an adaptive cyclic jump algorithm is developed and implemented within the PFDM. The sensitivity of life prediction to cyclic jump parameter has been greatly reduced by correlating the cyclic jump with the increment time and viscous coefficient. Therefore, the cyclic jump parameter can be arbitrarily selected within a relatively large range to obtain convergent results. When incorporating the adaptive cyclic jump algorithm, there is no need to define a standard for determining the material failure in numerical calculations, which effectively eliminates an artificially induced uncertainty in life predictions. Two sets of experiments are conducted to validate the proposed PFDM. The numerical predictions including static failure strength and fatigue life correlate reasonably well with the available experimental data.

Study on fatigue life prediction method of composite laminates

Advanced composites have been widely used in aerospace field and transportation field in ground due to their excellent mechanical properties. Fatigue damage and life prediction of composites have always been the important and difficult issues in the field of composite mechanics. In this paper, the maximum stress criterion and Puck criterion were extended to fatigue failure criterion, and the fatigue damage analysis model of composite laminates was established by combining the gradual degradation model of material properties, the regularized fatigue life analysis method and the fatigue damage accumulation theory. Then, the model was used to predict the damage evolution and failure mechanism of composite laminates, and the fatigue tests with three stress levels (55%, 60% and 65%) were conducted. The fatigue life and failure mode of the numerical results matches well with the test results. Under fatigue loadings, the fatigue damage initiated from free edges on both sides of the plate to the inside of the laminates. The matrix damage first appeared in the 90° plies on two free sides, then the matrix damage and fiber damage of 45° plies were induced. The fiber damage of 0° ply finally appears and rapidly spreads to the center of laminates until the damage covers the entire cross section.

A comparison of cutting mechanisms of the carbon fibre reinforced thermoset and thermoplastic composites by the experimental and computational modelling methods

The unexpected damages are usually introduced during the machining of carbon fibre reinforced composites. There have been experimental investigations on the damage extent for machining thermoset and thermoplastic composites, and numerical simulations developed for the cutting characteristics of thermoset composites. However, studies on the material removal and chip formation mechanisms during the cutting of carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTPs), are rarely reported, which will significantly contribute to the machining quality improvement of CFRTPs. To this issue, numerical simulations and experiments were conducted in this paper to analyse the cutting mechanisms of CFRTPs, and to compare their cutting processes with the carbon/epoxy composites for guidance on damage suppression. In the developed finite element (FE) models, the carbon/epoxy composites were defined to be anisotropic with an elastic constitutive model, while an elastic-plastic damage model was proposed for CFRTPs. Specifically, a plastic yield function consisting of three-dimensional (3D) stress components was utilized to characterise the plasticity of CFRTPs under complex cutting loads. For these two materials, the initiation and evolution of the damage with different failure modes were determined based on the Hashin and Puck criteria and the strain energy density. With these FE models, the orthogonal cutting processes and forces of the composites under four fibre orientations were predicted, and the results agree well with the experimental outputs. It was found that the material removal mechanisms of CFRTPs with the four fibre orientations are diverse from the ones made from thermoset resins in terms of crack propagation, material fracture position and chip formation. Additionally, the shorter cracks and longer chips are usually produced when cutting CFRTPs with 0° and 45° fibre orientations compared with those of the carbon/epoxy composites with same layups. Moreover, the cutting forces of CFRTPs are higher than the carbon/epoxy composites at 0°, 45° and 135° fibre orientations.

A Numerical Investigation for the Effect of Environmental Conditions on the Bending Behaviour of Laminated Composites

In this study, the bending behavior of fiber-reinforced laminated composites (FRCs) with a balanced and symmetric stacking sequence was investigated numerically under different environmental conditions. The numerical models of carbon/ bismaleimide, carbon/epoxy, and S-glass/epoxy laminated composites were designed and analyzed using ESAComp software. Deformation of the FRCs models was simulated with three-point bending conditions and the effects of material properties varying with environmental conditions on the flexural analysis were investigated according to the Tsai-Wu criterion and the Puck criterion. The Tsai-Wu criterion detects the failure of FRCs earlier and behaves more conservative than the Puck criterion for all environmental conditions. The flexural strength and failure mode of the laminates vary with the variation of environmental conditions. The order of the first damaged ply varied depending on the type of reinforcing fiber. Especially the presence of moisture and high temperature significantly influences the flexural strength of the laminated composites.

Failure criteria assessment of carbon/epoxy laminate under tensile loads using finite element method: Validation with experimental tests and fractographic analysis

The failure of polymer composites is complex due to the independent and interacting damage mechanisms. The availability of several failure criteria demands a reasonable discernment of each criterion in order to obtain a consistent response to make an assertive selection. The importance of this decision is present in simulation works using finite element method and it is of particular interest of the industry and designers, once an optimized project is the goal. This study regards a carbon/epoxy laminate based on plain weave fabric subjected to tensile load and numerical simulations using finite element method was applied to compare the widely used Maximum Stress, Tsai-Wu, Hoffman, Tsai-Hill, Hashin and Puck failure criteria. Experimental tensile tests were carried out and fractographic analysis was performed in order to validate the finite element model and the applicability of the failure criteria. The model presented a good agreement with the experimental results and the correlation between the fractographic analysis and the failure criteria results allowed to select the Puck criterion as the proper and adequate for the studied composite laminate subjected to tensile load.