Constitutive ply damage modeling, FEM implementation, and analyses of laminated structures

The present work is concerned with the modeling of progressive damage in fiber reinforced polymer laminates and its implementation into a finite element code as constitutive material law. The objective is to predict damage evolution and material degradation due to matrix dominated failure modes (“matrix cracking”). In a previous work, a ply-level continuum damage model based on ply failure mechanisms postulated by Puck has been presented. This model predicts the evolution of the complete tensor of elasticity for the damaged material and is able to capture the effects of stiffness recovery and slanted cracking under transverse compression. In the current work, this damage model is adapted for arbitrary loading paths and implemented within the finite element method in order to analyze complex structures and study their damage behavior including load redistribution due to damage. To demonstrate some key features and the application of the damage model in structural analysis, it is applied in a single element analysis as well as in the simulation of Open Hole Compression tests for which results are compared to experimental data from the literature.