Modelling and Simulation of Delamination Damages in Analyses of Laminated FRP Composite Made Bonded Tubular Single Lap Joints

The present research deals with a Finite Element (FE) based simulation technique for the through-the–circumference delamination damage analyses of Tubular Single Lap Joints (TSLJ) in laminated FRP composites. ANSYS a FE based software has been used for this simulation. Three-dimensional non-linear FE analyses have been carried out to study the effects of through-the-circumference delaminations on interlaminar stresses in the bonded TSLJ. Stress analyses revealed that the interface of surface ply (in contact with the adhesive) with the next ply i.e. first ply-interface of both the adherends shows maximum intensity of interlaminar out-of-plane stress concentration, which is gradually reduced for the subsequent ply-interfaces. Tsai-Wu coupled stress criterion has been used to identify the location of delamination damage initiation in the adherends. Accordingly, free edges of the first ply-interfaces of both the adherends showing maximum values of failure index are simulated with delamination damages using sub laminate technique. Contact FE analyses have been performed in order to avoid interpenetration of delaminated surfaces