Computational Tools for Stress and Damage Analysis of Laminated Composite Structures

Modern Army vehicles require durable, reliable, modular and lightweight structures for better maneuverability and performance. Use of advanced composite materials with smart structural concepts offer the potential to meet these requirements. Design of suchstructures requires sophisticated analysis tools that are capable of predicting deformation and stresses accurately. In Phase I of the contract, damage models and computational approaches were developed and their use for accurate analysis of laminatedcomposite plates with embedded sensors/actuators was demonstrated. The objective of Phase II effort is to develop, using Phase I results, a finite element software for Army engineers and contractors to use in the design and manufacturing of nextgeneration Army smart structural components. The specific technical objectives of Phase II effort are: the development of the nonlinear layerwise finite element model; the development of computational algorithms for the integration of damage models, smartstructural concepts; and global-local analysis using the layerwise and equivalent single layer theories; the development of a finite element computer program based on these concepts and procedures; demonstration of the software capabilities through anumber of relevant examples; and the development of strategies for commercialization of the software developed in Phase II. The software developed during Phase II effort may be used to determine 3D stress states, study damage growth, and monitor failuresin laminated composite structures. The results of Phase II can be commercialized by incorporating the developed software ideas into a commercially available finite element computer program, such as ABAQUS, marketed by HKS, Inc., Providence. Thecommercialization of the developed technology will benefit Army engineers and designers in gaining a fundamental understanding of the non-linear behavior and damage progression in thick composite and sandwich structural components used in Army vehicles.Consequently, the computational tools developed herein will have a significant impact on the analysis and design of composite structures used in lightweight composite army vehicles.