A modified cohesive zone model (CZM) has been developed to simulate damage initiation and evolution in Fibre-Metal Laminates (FMLs) manufactured in-house but based on the Glare ® material specifications. Specimens containing both splice and doubler features under high cycle fatigue loading. The model uses a novel trapezoidal traction-separation law to describe the elastic-plastic behaviour of this material under monotonic and high-cycle fatigue loading. The model is implemented in the software Abaqus/Explicit via an user-defined cohesive material subroutine. Several models of increasing complexity were investigated to validate the proposed approach. A two-stage experimental testing programme was then conducted to validate the numerical analyses. Firstly, quasi-static tests were used to determine the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of a series of specimens with and without internal features. Secondly, high-cycle fatigue tests were conducted on both laminate types with variable load amplitude so that S-N curves could be built. Tests were monitored using digital image correlation (DIC) for full-field strain mapping and acoustic emission (AE) sensing to detect the initiation and propagation of damage during quasi-static and fatigue tests. Good correlation was observed between predicted onset and growth of delaminations and the history of cumulative AE energy during the tests, which supports the validity of the cohesive modelling approach for FMLs.

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A 3D finite element model using cohesive elements and continuum (bulk) material damage models was developed to examine the progressive damage and failure behaviour of Glare R Fibre Metal Laminate (FML) specimens subjected to in-plane compressive loading. The specimens contained internal 'splice' and 'doubler' features and were either pristine or contained simulated manufacturing defects in the form of artificial delaminations. The initiation and growth of delaminations at the inter-laminar interfaces, damage in the glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) plies, ductile damage in the resin pockets (FM94 epoxy) and the onset of plasticity in the metal layers were examined. Geometric imperfections and load eccentricity were incorporated in an explicit dynamic nonlinear analysis implemented in the software Abaqus/Explicit. A series of buckling tests on specimens with and without artificial delaminations were conducted for validation, which are described in detail in a companion paper. Tests were monitored using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) for visualisation of full-field displacements and strains whilst Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring enabled detection and localisation of the onset and progression of damage. Results for 'Glare 4B' specimens incorporating longitudinal and transverse delaminations into both splice and doubler geometries are presented. These results revealed that in order for the finite element analyses to be validated, all the damage and plasticity mechanisms * Corresponding author. Email address: Al-AzzawiAS@cardiff.ac.uk Preprint submitted to Composite Structures May 9, 2017 described above need to be accounted for, as well as load eccentricity and geometry imperfections.