Progressive failure analysis of perforated aluminium/CFRP fibre metal laminates using a combined elastoplastic damage model and including delamination effects

In this work, a finite element (FE) model which includes in-ply and delamination damage effects is developed for progressive failure analyses of fibre–metal laminates (FMLs). The combined elastoplastic damage model recently developed by the authors is applied to represent the in-plane mechanical response of the composite layers. Delamination is taken into account by a cohesive zone method implemented using the cohesive elements available in Abaqus. The metal layers are simulated using the Abaqus built-in isotropic elastic–plastic model. The model is first employed to investigate the blunt-notched behaviour of a GLARE specimen, and then, applied to study the effects of layup configurations (i.e., unidirectional, cross-ply and quasi-isotropic) and the numbers of holes (i.e., 0, 1, 3, 6 and 9) on the mechanical response of perforated aluminium/CFRP FMLs. Also, the stress distribution and damage progression patterns together with the failure sequences for the quasi-isotropic FMLs with 1 hole and 9 holes under tensile loading are discussed.