Use of enriched shell elements compared to solid elements for modelling delamination growth during impact on compositesShow others and affiliations
2021 (English)In: Composite structures, ISSN 0263-8223, E-ISSN 1879-1085, Vol. 269, article id 113945Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Simulation of damage in composite laminates using currently available three-dimensional finite element tools is computationally demanding often to the point that analysis is not practical. This paper presents an enriched shell element that can provide a computationally efficient means to simulate low-velocity impact damage in a composite. The enriched element uses the Floating Node Method and a damage algorithm based on the Virtual Crack Closure Technique that is capable of simulating progressive damage growth consisting of delamination and delamination-migrations from ply to ply during a dynamic impact load. This paper presents results from the shell model in a test-analysis correlation for impact testing of 7-ply and 56-ply laminates. Analysis results from a separate high-fidelity three-dimensional finite element analysis are included also for comparison in the case of the 7-ply laminate, but not in the case the 56-ply laminate due to excessive computational demand. This paper serves as the first application of both models in low-velocity impact simulation. The shell model is considerably more computationally efficient than the high-fidelity model by at least an order of magnitude and is shown to produce results, while not as accurate as the high-fidelity model, potentially sufficiently accurate for a wide range of engineering applications including structural design and rapid prototype assessments.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2021. Vol. 269, article id 113945
Keywords [en]
Delamination, Laminates, Low-velocity impact, Mechanical testing, Computational efficiency, Crack closure, Finite element method, Impact testing, Shells (structures), Composite laminate, Computationally efficient, Delamination growth, High fidelity models, Low velocity impact, Mechanical, Ply laminates, Shell element, Shell models, Solid elements
National Category
Composite Science and Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-53009DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2021.113945Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85105359536OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-53009DiVA, id: diva2:1557593
Note
Funding details: National Science Foundation, NSF, DGE-1746939; Funding details: Langley Research Center, LaRC; Funding text 1: This research is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE-1746939. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The research was also funded in part by NASA Langley Research Center and RISE SICOMP. The authors would like to thank Dr. T. Kevin O’Brien for his advice and consultation. The simulation work performed by Rodrigo Machado is gratefully appreciated.
2021-05-262021-05-262023-06-07Bibliographically approved