Finite Element Simulations of Composite Vehicle Structures under Impact Loading

Abstract

A finite element model for progressive in-plane damage and interfacial delamination was presented for cross-ply composite laminates. The commercial finite element software ABAQUS/STANDARD was used for this study. Each composite lamina was modeled as layers of shell elements based on Mindlin's plate theory. Displacement continuity was established across the layers of shell elements. Interlaminar stresses were recovered at the interface with the use of multi-point constraints. Several material constitutive relations were developed to simulate in-plane damage, such as fiber breakage, matrix cracking and in-plane shear failure. Delamination was simulated by removing the displacement constraints. Cross-ply composite laminates were subjected to impact loading. The results from the finite element analysis compared well with the experimental results.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 08, 2004
Accession Number
ADA576441

Entities

People

  • Basavaraju Raju
  • Dahsin Liu
  • Douglas Templeton
  • Sivom Manchiraju

Organizations

  • United States Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Composite Materials
  • Continuity
  • Delamination
  • Displacement
  • Engineering
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Laminates
  • Materials
  • Materials Testing
  • Mechanics
  • Shear Stresses
  • Simulations
  • Stiffness
  • Stress Strain Relations
  • Stresses
  • Three Dimensional
  • Two Dimensional

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Structural Dynamics.
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.