Coupled space-time multiscale simulations of dynamic delamination tests

The aim of this work was to numerically investigate the dynamic debonding of a thin composite laminate from a rigid substrate. The laminate is elastic and the separation surface behaviour is governed by a cohesive softening law. By way of simplification, the bending dominated deflection of the free part of the laminate is described through the Euler–Bernoulli kinematics. In this context, the partial differential equation governing the laminate motion is characterized by two length scales and two time scales. To accurately simulate the growth of delamination, a coupled space-time multiscale integration was used. The qualifying features of such an approach are: i) a fine spatial discretization across the process zone, where the evolution of the cohesive tractions demands a detailed description; ii) a high order accurate time integration algorithm, capable of damping spurious high frequency oscillations of the solution. The results of a two-stage peel test testify to the good performance of the approach applied.