Failure analysis of woven composites using physically based modified mesomodel

A smeared crack formulation-based continuum damage model for the failure analysis of balanced woven composites is proposed by accounting for ply nonlinear damage, plasticity, physical fracture toughness values and finite element mesh size. The resulting novel constitutive model is implemented in the commercial explicit finite element solver LS-Dyna. Delamination between plies is modeled using user-defined cohesive behavior. All the intraply material properties are measured from [0]8, [±45]2s and [67.5]8 coupon tests. Interply material properties are measured using short beam shear, curved beam bend, double cantilever beam and end notch flexure tests. The effect of interface angle on the delamination behavior is investigated by considering laminates with 0//0 and 0//45 interface angles. Finally, the predictability of the material model is demonstrated using: (a) four flexural tests on four stacking sequences and (b) five open hole tension tests with different hole diameters and stacking sequences. The failure load and stress predictions from finite element models matched very well with test measurements.