Experimental and numerical investigations of crimped end fittings

The paper deals with numerical and experimental investigations of steel made hulls crimped onto glass fibre reinforced plastic rods. The aim is to optimize the crimping procedure to realize maximum pull out forces of the specimens. The numerical simulations were performed with the commercial FEA package ABAQUS. For the contact formulation a Coulomb friction law with a constant friction coefficient was applied. The damage and fracture states within the composite rods due to the crimping process were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The results obtained were discussed and an outlook to further work is given. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Thermo-mechanical modelling of cellular hybrid refractories

Refractory materials are subjected to both quasi-static and dynamic thermal loading (thermal shock) causing damage up to mechanical failure. Typical refractories are magnesia carbon bricks consisting of periclase (MgO) and carbon inclusions. Recently, a significant improvement of the thermo-mechanical behaviour could be achieved by cellular hybrid composites made of periclase-filled carbon foams. The present contribution focuses on MgO-filled carbon foams and the investigation and optimisation of the structure-property relationship with respect to a reduction of thermally induced stresses and damage. It is a transient as well as static, fully coupled thermo-mechanical problem. According to the fact that, in general, refractories are brittle materials a linear elastic model, with a damage criterion was used. To optimise the structural morphology of the cellular refractories, the effect of micro structural changes has been determined. For the investigation of the thermal shock! behaviour, the results correlate very well with the experimentally motivated Hasselman relation. There is a significant size effect depending on the pore size. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Modelling of composite plates including damage

The paper is concerned with the modelling and numerical simulation of fibre-composite plates in the nonlinear range due to large strains and damage. The layer-wise approach is applied. Each layer is treated as elastic-brittle and assumed to be orthotropic in the local material coordinate system. The appearance of damage is controlled according to the failure criteria [1,2,3,4]. When the failure condition is satisfied, the mechanical properties of the material are modified appropriately, depending on the type of damage (fibre breakage, matrix crack, fibre-matrix shear). We have programmed the model as a user subroutine within the ABAQUS environment and carried out a number of numerical simulations. The obtained numerical results are compared with the experimental data available in the literature [3]. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Computer simulations for the mechanical analysis of skeletal muscles

The structure of a skeletal muscle can be seen as a complex hierarchical organisation in which thousands of muscle fibers are arranged within a connective tissue network. Inside of the single muscle fibre many force-producing cells, known as sarcomeres, are connected and take care of the contraction of the whole muscle. The material behaviour of muscles is nonlinear. Due to the fact that muscles can have large deformations in space, geometrical non-linearities must additionally be taken into account. For the simulation of such a behaviour the finite element method is used in the present approach. The material behaviour of the muscle is split into a so-called active and a passive part. To describe the passive part special unit cells consisting of one tetrahedral element and six truss elements have been derived. Additionally to these unit cells other truss elements are attached representing bundles of muscle fibers and therefore the active part of the material behaviour. The contractile behaviour of the muscle is mainly in.uenced by the stretch of the muscle fibres, the shortening velocity and the activation status of the muscle. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Caracterización de la delaminación en materiales compuestos mediante la teoría de mezclas serie/paralelo

This paper presents a new procedure to deal with the delamination problem found in laminated composites, based in a continuum mechanics formulation. The procedure proposed obtains the composite constitutive performance with the Serial/Parallel mixing theory, developed by F. Rastellini. This theory characterizes composite materials by coupling the constitutive behaviour of the composite components, imposing an iso–strain relation among the components in the fibre (or parallel) direction and an iso-stress relation in the remaining directions (serial directions). The proposed procedure uses a damage formulation to characterize the constitutive behaviour of matrix component in order to obtain the stress-strain performance of this material.With these two formulations, the delamination phenomenon is characterized naturally by the numerical simulation, being unnecessary the definition of special elements or computationally expensive techniques like the definition of contact elements or mesh separation. Matrix failure, as a result of the stress state found in it, leads to a reduction of the stiffness and strength capacity of the composite in its serial directions, among them, the shear component. This stiffness reduction provides a composite performance equivalent to what is found in a delaminated material.To prove the ability of the formulation proposed to solve delamination problems, the End Notch Failure test is numerically simulated and the results obtained are compared with experimental ones. The agreement found in the results with both simulations, numerical and experimental, validate the proposed methodology to solve the delamination problem.     

Experiments and numerical simulations on damage behavior of biaxially loaded specimen

The paper deals with the effect of stress state on damage and failure behavior of isotropic ductile metals. In the continuum damage model the damage behavior of ductile metals is adequately described by a generalized damage condition and an anisotropic damage rule. The damage criterion is based on series of uniaxial experiments with differently notched specimens and corresponding numerical simulations as well as on various numerical calculations on the micro-scale. Different branches of the damage criterion depending on stress triaxiality and Lode parameter are considered. To be able to validate the proposed stress-state-dependent functions new experiments with two-dimensionally loaded specimens have been developed. Corresponding numerical simulations show that these shear-tension and shear-compression tests cover a wide range of stress triaxialities and Lode parameters. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Experimental and Numerical Study of the Open-Hole Tensile Strength of Carbon/Epoxy Composites

Open-hole tension tests are a part of the qualification process for composite parts that need to be joined to other parts in aircraft structures [1]. With each new material, a new set of tests is required. To reduce costs, it is desirable to develop analysis tools for the prediction of damage and failure in such tests, so that the amount of testing can be reduced and predictions can be made about material behaviour early in the design process. In this paper, an experimental and numerical study is presented on the notched (open-hole) strength of high-strength carbon/epoxy composites (HTA/6376). Open-hole tension tests have been performed on specimens with three different lay-ups — quasi-isotropic, zero-dominated, and cross-ply — in accordance with procedures in available standards. The data observed are being used to develop several methods for predicting the notched strength, and results from one such method using a progressive damage analysis are presented with comparisons with experiments. The predictions of specimen stiffness and failure load were found to agree well with experiments. To gain insight into the failure process, damage progression maps are shown.     

Damage and Failure of Metal/Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Tensile Specimens with Inelastic Interface

Hybrid specimens of metal and fibre-reinforced polymer are applied in automotive and aerospace industry. The simulation and analysis of damage of such engineering structures is the focus of this research. The investigation includes a computation of the extension of single lap tensile specimen, produced by ultrasonic metal welding. The specimen is manufactured from CF-PA66 - fibre-reinforced polymer and AlMg3 (AA5754), which is used as a metallic joining partner. The aluminium substrate is treated as an elastoplastic material. The polymer composite generally shows an orthotropic elastic behaviour. The interface material has been numerically modeled as an elastoplastic material with linear hardening, coupled with Lemaitre-type damage. The finite element method is used for the investigation of so-called interface elements. The geometry of the interface is a consequence of the welding sonotrode geometry. The behaviour of specimens with square and ring interface geometry are analysed. The influence of the interface geometry on the mechanical properties of the joint is shown. The increase of the damage parameter and the development of failure are described for both cases. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Micromechanical modelling and two-scale simulation of epoxy/glass composites with interphases and interfaces

Composite systems consisting of glass fibres and epoxy matrix with interphases and interfaces will be considered in the modelling approach. The interphase forms the transition zone between the epoxy matrix and the glass fibre. The interface is the layer between the glass fibre and the surrounding interphase. The macroscopic strength of the composite material is intrinsically related to the bond strength of the polymeric/solid interface and the micromechanical characteristics of the three phases (epoxy, glass and interphase). Homogenization is an appropriate methodology to link these two scales to predict the overall physical behaviour of the composite. The nonlinear behaviour of amorphous polymers, cohesive interface elements and the elastic behaviour of glass fibres as part of the considered composite material are presented, as well as a representative example to show the necessity of taking interface influences into account. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Multiscale Modelling of the Effective Viscoplastic Material Behaviour of Textile-Reinforced Polymers Using XFEM

In this contribution a modelling approach using numerical homogenisation techniques is applied to predict the effective nonlinear material behaviour of composites from simulations of a representative volume element (RVE). Numerical models of the heterogeneous material structure in the RVE are generated using the eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) which allows for a regular mesh. Suitable constitutive relations account for the material behaviour of the constituents. The influence of the nonlinear matrix material behaviour on the composite is studied in a physically nonlinear FE simulation of the local material behaviour in the RVE ­ effective stress-strain curves are computed and compared to experimental observations. The approach is currently augmented by a damage model for the fibre bundle. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An Adaptive Finite Element Approach for Brittle Fracture

The extension of the finite element method to take discrete fracture and failure modes into account is a current field of research. In recent times, first results in terms of cohesive element formulations have been introduced into commercial applications. Such element formulations are able to cover the discrete behaviour of interfaces between different materials or the mechanical processes of thin layers. These approaches are not suitable for simulations with unknown crack paths in homogeneous materials, due to the initial elastic phase of the material formulation and the necessity to define potential crack paths a priori. The presented strategy starts with an unextended model and modifies the structure during the computations in terms of an adaptive procedure. The idea is to generate additional elements, based on the cohesive element formulation, to approximate arbitrary crack paths. For this purpose, a failure criterion is introduced. For nodes where the limiting value is reached, cohesive elements are introduced between the volume element boundaries of accordingly facets and corresponding nodes are duplicated. Necessary modifications for this application on system level as well as the element and the material formulation are introduced. By means of some numerical examples, the functionality of the presented procedure is demonstrated. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Equilibrium failure processes of granular composites

The macroscopic failure of inhomogeneous media results from damage accumulation on different structural levels. During rigid loading, when given displacements of boundary points are ensured, irrespective of the body's resistance, structural-failure processes of composite materials take place in an equilibrium regime and result in the manifestation of such nonlinear-behavior effects as a descending branch on the strain diagram. the structural elements of a granular composite are homogeneous and firmly connected along the interface. Their geometry and mutual arrangement are given and do not change during deformation and failure of the medium, and the medium itself is macrohomogenous. The strength of isotropic structural elementsis estimated by comparing the second invariant of the stress tensor with its critical value. Nonfulfillment of the indicated strength criterion is associated with loss of ability to resist changes in form; at this point, the positive value of the first invariant corresponds to loss of such ability to resist and increase in volume. The deformation and structural failure of the medium are investigated as a single process that can be described under quasi-static loading by a boundary problem consisting of a closed system of Eqs. (1) and (2) and boundary conditions providing for a macrohomogeneous strain state. A principal feature of the boundary problem under consideration is the possibility of considering in constitutive relationships the states of the inhomogeneous medium, which correspond to partial or complete loss of bearing capacity of the structural elements. The random structural strength constants correspond to three-parameter Weibull distribution (6). The representative volume of a granular composite, which fills a domain in the form of a cube, is modeled by a set of istropic elastobrittle strain diagrams containing a descending branch are obtained as a result of the mathematical modeling of deformation processes and structural failure to realized a representative volume containing 384 structural elements with different strength and similar elastic constants.Presented at the Ninth International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials, Riga, October, 1995.Perm'State Mechanical University, Russia. Translated From Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 32, No. 6, pp. 808–817, November–December, 1996.     

预测复合材料开裂方向的比应变能密度准则

本文提出预测复合材料中裂纹方向的比应变能密度准则,并将Tsai-Hill与Norris准则扩展来预测复合材料中的开裂方向.用这三个准则预测了具有各种不同纤维方向的单向纤维复合材料的裂纹扩展方向,预测结果与现有的比正应力准则和应变能密度准则进行了对比.     

Micro-mechanical studies on the effect of various stress-states on ductile damage and failure

The paper deals with the effect of different stress states on damage and failure behavior of ductile materials. To be able to model these effects a continuum damage model has been proposed taking into account the dependence of the stress intensity, the stress triaxiality and the Lode parameter on the constitutive equations. The model is based on the introduction of damaged and fictitious undamaged configurations. Only experiments are not adequate enough to determine all constitutive parameters. Therefore, additional three-dimensional micro-mechanical simulations of representative volume elements have been performed to get more insight in the complex damage mechanisms. These simulations cover a wide range of different void sizes, void shapes and void distributions. After all, the results from the micro-mechanical simulations are used to propose the damage equations and to identify corresponding parameters. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Investigation of microcracks in ferroelectric materials by application of a grain-boundary-motivated cohesive law

Ferroelectric materials exhibit a huge potential for engineering applications – ranging from electrical actuators (inverse piezoelectric effect) to sensor technology (direct piezoelectric effect). To give an example, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is a typical perovskite ion crystal possessing ferroelectric properties. In this contribution, we are particularly interested in the modelling of microcracking effects in ferroelectric materials. In view of Finite-Element-based simulations, the geometry of a natural grain structure, as observed on the so-called micro-level, is represented by an appropriate mesh. While the response on the grains themselves is approximated by coupled continuum elements, grain boundaries are numerically incorporated via so-called cohesive-type elements. For the sake of simplicity, switching effects in the bulk material will be neglected. The behaviour of the grain boundaries is modelled by means of cohesive-type laws. Identifying grain boundaries as potential failure zones leading to microcracking, cohesive-type elements consequently offer a great potential for numerical simulations. As an advantage, in the case of failure they do not a priori result in ill-conditioned systems of equations as compared with the application of standard continuum elements to localised deformations. Finally, representative constitutive relations for both the bulk material and the grain boundaries, enable two-dimensional studies of low-cycle-fatigue motivated benchmark boundary value problems. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Modeling of microscopic failure in heterogeneous materials

The proper modeling of state-of-the-art engineering materials requires a profound understanding of the nonlinear macroscopic material behavior. Especially for heterogeneous materials the effective macroscopic response is amongst others driven by damage effects and the inelastic material behavior of the individual constituents [1]. Since the macroscopic length scale of such materials is significantly larger than the fine-scale structure, a direct modeling of the local structure in a component model is not convenient. Multiscale techniques can be used to predict the effective material behavior. To this end, the authors developed a modeling technique based on representative volume elements (RVE) to predict the effective material behavior on different length scales. The extended finite element method (XFEM) is used to model discontinuities within the material structure independent of the underlying FE mesh. A dual enrichment strategy allows for the combined modeling of kinks (material interfaces) and jumps (cracks) within the displacement field [2]. The gradual degradation of the interface is thereby controlled by a cohesive zone model. In addition to interface failure, a non-local strain driven continuum damage model has been formulated to efficiently detect localization zones within the material phases. An integral formulation introduces a characteristic length scale and assures the convergence of the approach upon mesh refinement [3]. The proposed method allows for an efficient modeling of substantial failure mechanisms within a heterogeneous structure without the need of remeshing or element substitution. Due to the generality of the approach it can be used on different length scales. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)