Effective Three-Dimensional (3-D) Finite Element Material Stiffness Formulation for Modeling Laminated Composites.

Abstract

A model has been developed to compute the effective properties for an element with arbitrarily shaped composite material regions. The analysis utilizes the strain energy approach and finite element technique to resolve the complexity of three-dimensional (3-D) layer geometry, anistropy, ply orientations, and multi-material regions within an element. Accordingly, the model accounts for the complex element geometries resulting from material discontinuity, changes in mesh density, and arbitrarily shaped elements that cannot be readily aligned with the layers of the laminate. The computed elastic constants are accurate, especially for the transverse shear properties. The analysis is particularly suitable for finite element applications of near-net shaped, thick-section structures. Based on the model, a pre- and postprocessor was developed to generate finite element models for computer codes such as DYNA3D and ABAQUS. Results from the finite element analysis can also be recovered to ply-by-ply basis stresses and strains.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA306454

Entities

People

  • A. Alexander
  • B. P. Burns
  • Jerome T. Tzeng
  • W. H. Drysdale

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artillery
  • Composite Materials
  • Composite Structures
  • Construction
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Engineering
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Geometry
  • Graphitic Materials
  • Laminates
  • Materials
  • Mechanics
  • Military Research
  • Orientation (Direction)
  • Shear Properties
  • Three Dimensional
  • Transverse

Readers

  • Structural Dynamics.
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.
  • Systems Analysis and Design