Isogeometric multilayer thin-shell analysis of failure in composite structures with hygrothermal effects

Abstract

We develop a computational framework to model damage and delamination in laminated polymer composite structures incorporating the effects of temperature and moisture content. The framework is founded on a recently developed comprehensive multi-layer thin-shell formulation based on Isogeometric Analysis, which includes continuum damage, plasticity and cohesive-interface models. To incorporate hygrothermal effects in the modeling, we propose a scaling law that is based on the Arrhenius equation and material glass transition temperature that establishes the dependence of the intra- and interlaminar material properties on the temperature and moisture content. We compute several classical test cases using a combination of environmental conditions and demonstrate that the resulting modeling approach shows a good agreement with the experimental data, both in terms of failure loads reached as well as failure modes predicted.