Numerical analysis of delamination growth for stiffened composite laminated plates

Abstract

A study of postbuckling and delamination propagation behavior in delaminated stiffened composite plates was presented. A methodology was proposed for simulating the multi-failure responses, such as initial and postbuckling, delamination onset and propagation, etc. A finite element analysis was conducted on the basis of the Mindlin first order shear effect theory and the von-Kdrmdn nonlinear deformation assumption. The total energy release rate used as the criteria of delamination growth was estimated with virtual crack closure technique (VCCT). A self-adaptive grid moving technology was adopted to model the delamination growth process. Moreover, the contact effect along delamination front was also considered during the numerical simulation process. By some numerical examples, the influence of distribution and location of stiffener, configuration and size of the delamination, boundary condition and contact effect upon the delamination growth behavior of the stiffened composite plates were investigated. The method and numerical conclusion provided should be of great value to engineers dealing with composite structures.

Numerical Analysis of Buckling and Delamination Growth for Stiffened Composite Laminated Plates with Piezoelectric Actuators

“…The problem of buckling behavior and delamination growth related with delamination of stiffened composite laminated plate has been of great concern in recent years. The delamination growth due to the local buckling of a composite plate with square and rectangular embedded delaminations was studied by using the virtual crack closure technique (VCCT) [1][2][3] . The method is computational effective.…”