Progressive damage and nonlinear analysis of pultruded composite structures

Abstract This study combines a simple damage modeling approach with micromechanical models for the progressive damage analysis of pultruded composite materials and structures. Two micromodels are used to generate the nonlinear effective response of a pultruded composite system made up from two alternating layers reinforced with roving and continuous filaments mat (CFM). The layers have E-glass fiber and vinylester matrix constituents. The proposed constitutive and damage framework is integrated within a finite element (FE) code for a general nonlinear analysis of pultruded composite structures using layered shell or plate elements. The micromechanical models are implemented at the through-thickness Gaussian integration points of the pultruded cross-section. A layer-wise damage analysis approach is proposed. The Tsai–Wu failure criterion is calibrated separately for the CFM and roving layers using ultimate stress values from off-axis pultruded coupons under uniaxial loading. Once a failure is detected in one of the layers, the micromodel of that layer is no longer used. Instead, an elastic degrading material model is activated for the failed layer to simulate the post-ultimate response. Damage variables for in-plane modes of failure are considered in the effective anisotropic strain energy density of the layer. The degraded secant stiffness is used in the FE analysis. Examples of progressive damage analysis are carried out for notched plates under compression and tension, and a single-bolted connection under tension. Good agreement is shown when comparing the experimental results and the FE models that incorporate the combined micromechanical and damage models.

[1]  G. Sendeckyj,et al.  A Brief Survey of Empirical Multiaxial Strength Criteria for Composites , 1972 .

[2]  Richard M. Christensen,et al.  Tensor Transformations and Failure Criteria for the Analysis of Fiber Composite Materials , 1988 .

[3]  J. N. Reddy,et al.  Three-Dimensional Finite Element Progressive Failure Analysis of Composite Laminates Under Axial Extension , 1993 .

[4]  R. Hill.  The mathematical theory of plasticity , 1950 .

[5]  L. Bank,et al.  PROGRESSIVE TEARING FAILURE OF PULTRUDED COMPOSITE BOX BEAMS: EXPERIMENT AND SIMULATION , 1998 .

[6]  S. Peters.  Handbook of Composites , 1998 .

[7]  S. V. Kulkarni,et al.  Failure and fatigue mechanisms in composite materials , 1975 .

[8]  Julio F. Davalos,et al.  Progressive Failure Analysis of Laminated Composite Beams , 1996 .

[9]  Fu-Kuo Chang,et al.  Damage Tolerance of Laminated Composites Containing an Open Hole and Subjected to Compressive Loadings: Part I—Analysis , 1991 .

[10]  F. Chang,et al.  A Progressive Damage Model for Laminated Composites Containing Stress Concentrations , 1987 .

[11]  Rami Haj-Ali.  Hierarchical material models with microstructure for nonlinear analysis of progressive damage in laminated composite structures , 1996 .

[12]  R. Haj-Ali,et al.  Nonlinear constitutive models for pultruded FRP composites , 2003 .

[13]  Z. Hashin.  Failure Criteria for Unidirectional Fiber Composites , 1980 .

[14]  Edward M. Wu,et al.  Optimal Experimental Measurements of Anisotropic Failure Tensors , 1972 .

[15]  J. Aboudi.  Mechanics of composite materials - A unified micromechanical approach , 1991 .

[16]  W. Hwang,et al.  Failure analysis of laminated composites by using iterative three-dimensional finite element method , 1989 .

[17]  B. Rosen.  FAILURE OF FIBER COMPOSITE LAMINATES , 1983 .

[18]  Stephen W. Tsai,et al.  A General Theory of Strength for Anisotropic Materials , 1971 .

[19]  Lawrence C. Bank,et al.  Failure of Web-Flange Junction in Postbuckled Pultruded I-Beams , 1999 .

[20]  Ozden O. Ochoa,et al.  Finite Element Analysis of Composite Laminates , 1992 .

[21]  Stephen W. Tsai,et al.  A Survey of Macroscopic Failure Criteria for Composite Materials , 1984 .

[22]  G. C. Sih,et al.  Failure mechanics of composites , 1985 .

[23]  Ever J. Barbero,et al.  Prediction and measurement of the post-critical behavior of fiber-reinforced composite columns , 1998 .

[24]  S. Tsai,et al.  On the Behavior of Composite Laminates After Initial Failures , 1974 .

[25]  M. E. Waddoups,et al.  A Method of Predicting the Nonlinear Behavior of Laminated Composites , 1969 .

[26]  Hakan Kilic,et al.  Nonlinear behavior of pultruded FRP composites , 2002 .

[27]  Stephen W. Tsai,et al.  Strength Characteristics of Composite Materials. , 1965 .

[28]  C. Sun,et al.  Prediction of failure envelopes and stress/strain behaviour of composite laminates 1 This article re , 1998 .

[29]  James D. Lee.  Three dimensional finite element analysis of damage accumulation in composite laminate , 1982 .

[30]  Z. Hashin.  Analysis of Composite Materials—A Survey , 1983 .

[31]  R. Haj-Ali,et al.  THREE-DIMENSIONAL MICROMECHANICS-BASED CONSTITUTIVE FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS OF PULTRUDED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES , 2001 .

[32]  John S. Tomblin,et al.  Local buckling experiments on FRP columns , 1994 .