Int J Mater Form (2009) Vol. 2 Suppl 1:943947 DOI 10.

1007/s12289-009-0629-z Springer/ESAFORM 2009

EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT ADVANCED FINITE ELEMENT CONCEPTS FOR DETAILED STRESS ANALYSIS OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES
K. Rah1*, W. Van Paepegem1, A.M. Habraken2, R. Alves de Sousa3 and R.A.F. Valente3 Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Gent, Belgium 2 ArGEnCo department Architecture, Geology, Environment & Constructions, University of Lige, Chemin des Chevreuils 1 bt B52/3, B 4000 Lige, Belgium 3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
ABSTRACT: Despite their high specific stiffness and strength, laminated composite materials, e.g. fibre-reinforced plastic plies stacked at different fibre orientations, are susceptible to damage. Damage can be divided into interalaminar damage and interlaminar damage. Delamination is a typical kind of interlaminar damage which occurs in laminated composite materials, often accompanied with intralaminar damage, and may lead to a catastrophic structural collapse. The first and most crucial step in the prediction of failure of Laminated Composite Structures (LCS) is to accurately determine the stresses, particularly the three transverse stress components, also called the interlaminar stresses. It is proposed in the present paper that the integration of a displacement based solid-shell formulation and partial-hybrid stress formulation will lead to an accurate and robust solid-shell element, suitable for the efficient and detailed interlaminar stress calculation. KEYWORDS: specific stiffness and strength, fibre-reinforced plastic plies, interalaminar damage, interlaminar damage, delamination, laminated composite structures, solid-shell element , interlaminar stresses
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1 INTRODUCTION
The incompatibility between the overall dimensions of the LCS (up to 25-30 meters) and the thickness of individual composite plies (typically 150-200 micrometers) makes solid-shell elements very attractive for the stress analysis of LCS. All displacement based solid-shell formulations available in literature have some issues that need to be addressed before their successful employment for the stress analysis of LCS. These issues, e.g. the transverse stress continuity through the laminate thickness and the traction-free condition on the upper and/or lower surfaces of the laminate, can be addressed using the hybrid/partial-hybrid stress formulation. The main objective of this paper is to investigate different Finite Element (FE) formulations available in the literature for the stress analysis of LCS and to propose a new approach that can lead to efficient finite element formulations suitable for the detailed stress analysis of LCS.
____________________ * K. Rah Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Phone: +32-09-264.95.17 Fax: +32-09-264.35.87 Email address: KhawajaKamran.Rah@UGent.be

2 DISPLACEMENT BASED SOLIDSHELL ELEMENT

Solid-shell elements form a class of finite element models that is intermediate between thin shell and conventional solid elements. They can be referred to as finite element models that have shell kinematics assumption and possess no rotational dofs. They have the same node and degrees-of-freedom configurations of solid elements but account for shell-like behaviour in the thickness direction. They are useful for modelling shelllike portions of a 3D structure without the need to connect solid elements nodes to shell nodes. Solid-shell element properties make them appropriate for the modelling of individual laminate plies whose surface and thickness dimensions are dimensionally incompatible, and finally they can be stacked to model a laminate.

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2.3 COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT SOLIDSHELL ELEMENTS Many solid-shell element formulations have been proposed by different researchers over the last few decades. A comparison of the most established displacement based solid-shell formulations in literature is shown in Table 1. Solid-shell formulations from Vu-Quoc and Alves de Sousa are found to be more suitable for the stress analysis of LCS. The main differences between these formulations are as follows: a) Alves de Sousas element uses only one Enhanced Assumed Strain (EAS) parameter while Vu-Quocs element uses seven EAS parameters, b) reduced numerical integration scheme has been employed in Alves de Sousas element, with the provision of user defined integration points through the element thickness, while full integration scheme is used in Vu-Quocs element, c) a stabilization technique is introduced in Alves de Sousas element to prevent the zero energy modes of the element caused by the reduced integration scheme. On the other hand, no such stabilization is necessary in Vu-Quocs element due to the use of full integration scheme, d) due to less EAS parameters and reduced integration scheme, Alves de Sousas element is computationally less costly than Vu-Quocs element, e) Vu-Quocs element passes the bending patch test exactly while Alves de Sousas element shows slight error in this test, f) Vu-Quocs element can be employed in higher element aspect ratios (6667) than Alves de Sousas element (1000). 2.4 DRAWBACKS OF DISPLACMENT BASED FORMULATIONS FOR THE STRESS ANALYSIS OF LCS In developing finite elements for stress analysis of LCS, the main requirement is to satisfy the continuity conditions on displacements and transverse stresses at interlaminar surfaces, and traction-free condition on the upper and/or lower surfaces. It can be seen from Table 1 that no displacement based formulation is able to provide the transverse stress continuity. This is so since in displacement based formulations stresses (secondary variables) are calculated from approximate displacements (primary variable) by using numerical differentiation at Gauss points. Stresses can vary from element to element and from Gauss point to Gauss point. Owing to the discontinuity in material properties in laminated composites, interlaminar surfaces are usually locations of large gradients of stresses. This leads to the drastic dissimilarities in the stresses at interlaminar surfaces, which are calculated by extrapolating the Gauss point values, hence violating the transverse stress continuity through the laminate thickness. Furthermore, the use of displacement based elements requires fine element meshes and extensive amount of

Figure 1: Solid-shell element [1]

2.1 ADVANTAGES OF SOLID-SHELL ELEMENTS Some advantages of solid-shell elements are as follows: a) they are simpler in their geometric and kinetic description, b) they perform better under high element aspect ratios as compared to conventional 3D solid elements, c) combined use of the solid and solid-shell elements do not need special solid-to-shell transition elements, as both elements have only displacements Degrees Of Freedom (DOF), d) complications in handling the finite rotations, as in conventional shell elements, can be avoided, e) full 3D constitutive law can be directly employed in solid-shell elements, hence there is no need for the dimensional reduction of constitutive law, as it is necessary in conventional plane stress based shell elements, f) they provide the direct calculation of thickness variations and transverse shear and normal stresses, g) due to the presence of top and bottom surface nodes in solid-shell elements, it is possible to consider automatically the double-sided contact in sheet forming simulations. 2.2 DISADVANTAGES OF SOLID-SHELL ELEMENT Apart the above mentioned benefits of solid-shell elements they have the following disadvantages: a) they are prone to be plagued by different types of locking, e.g. transverse shear locking, membrane locking, thickness locking, volumetric locking and trapezoidal locking, b) elements with high element aspect ratio can suffer from the ill-conditioning of the respective element stiffness matrix, c) they are computationally more costly than the conventional shell elements, especially when used to model layered structures, such as laminated composites.

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Table 1: Comparison of various displacement based solid-shell formulations in literature

Vu-Quoc [1, 3] Bischoff [4] Hauptmann [5] Betsch [6] Miehe [7] Reese [8] De Sousa [9-11]

Yes Yes Yes Yes No No slight error

computer space and time to be able to determine stresses and strains with a reasonable degree of accuracy. This is because of the fact that the convergence of displacement finite element model for problems with large gradients of stresses is slow [2].

3 HYBRID STRESS FINITE ELEMENTS

The development of hybrid stress finite elements is motivated by attempts to overcome the above mentioned disadvantages of displacement elements. The hybrid stress formulations assume the stresses as independent variables (primary variables) in the variational setup at the beginning. Therefore, the degree of accuracy of the stresses is the same as that of the displacements. This is due to the fact that the stresses are obtained directly from the process of minimization and without having to go through the numerical differentiation of the displacements. Another advantage is that the continuity condition of the primary variables can be imposed easily. A hybrid element can be formulated by many different techniques. Although most of the successful finite elements were initially based on intuitive insight rather than rigorous variational principles, researchers are always keen on devising variational bases for the new elements. Variational bases are considered to be important not only for legitimacy but also for the confidence of the element users [2].

____________________ * K. Rah Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Phone: +32-09-264.95.17 Fax: +32-09-264.35.87 Email address: KhawajaKamran.Rah@UGent.be

Bending patch test

Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes

Locking free

Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes

Absence of rot. dofs / disp. dofs only

Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Higher-order terms in thickness coordinate

Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes

Absence of pre-integration

3-D 2-D 3-D 2-D 3-D 3-D 3-D

3.1 COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT HYBRID STRESS ELEMENTS The first assumed stress element was suggested by Pian [12], which was based on the complementary energy principle. Since then many hybrid stress elements were proposed in literature. Tong and Pian [13] proposed a multilayer plate element that provided the desired through-the-thickness transverse shear stress continuity at interlaminar surfaces and zero traction condition at the top and bottom surfaces of a laminate. A 3D partialhybrid multilayer solid element was introduced by Hoa and Feng [2] that also provides the accurate interlaminar stress field through-the-thickness of a laminate, which is based on the composite energy principle. Main differences between Pians element and Hoas element are as follows: a) Pians element is based on complementary energy principle while Hoas element on composite energy principle, b) Pians element is a multilayer plate element but Hoas element is a multilayer 3D solid element, c) number of assumed stress parameters for Pians and Hoas element are 20 and 16 respectively, d) only Hoas element provides the transverse normal stress. 3.2 DISPLACEMENT BASED ELEMENTS VS. HYBRID STRESS ELEMENTS In order to give the reader an overview of the transverse shear stress calculation using displacement based elements and hybrid stress elements, for the stress

Model parameterspace dimension

Yes No No No No Yes Yes

Optimal EAS

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Geometrical non-linearity

No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes

Material non-linearity

6667 200 1000

Highest aspect ratio

Interlaminar stress continuity in thickness direction No No No No No No No

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analysis of LCS, the thick laminated beam example is discussed in the following. Figure 2 shows a simply supported three-ply-laminate [0o/90o/0o] thick beam with sinusoidal loading. This problem is chosen as the analytical solution of this problem is given by Pagano [14]. A comparison of transverse shear stress distribution in the thickness direction of the laminate at one end of the beam, employing different element formulations, is depicted in Figure 3. It can be seen from Figure 3 that the transverse shear stress distribution given by the displacement based solid elements is inaccurate and discontinuous through the laminate thickness and it does not fulfil the zero traction condition at the top and bottom surfaces of the laminate. On the other hand, both Pians and Hoas elements (hybrid stress elements) not only provide the stress continuity through the laminate thickness but also fulfil the zero traction condition at the top and bottom surfaces of the laminate. This example demonstrates the suitability of hybrid stress formulation for the transverse stress calculation in LCS.

Many numerical techniques for the prediction of delamination in LCS account for the use of FE method. However, the problem has not yet been satisfactorily solved. The main difficulty that arises is the calculation of transverse stresses efficiently and accurately. Without efficient means to obtain accurate transverse stresses, it is difficult to predict interlaminar failure. From the previous two sections it is evident that a solidshell element can be a good choice for the modelling of LCS. However, there are still many issues in solid-shell formulations presented in literature that need to be addressed before they can be efficiently employed for the transverse stress calculation in LCS. These issues stem from the geometry, heterogeneity and layered setup of LCS, and can be addressed using a hybrid/partialhybrid stress formulation. In literature no solid-shell element based on hybrid/partial-hybrid stress formulation can be found. This raises the need of development of such an element that can significantly contribute in FE technology in the context of delamination modelling in LCS.

5 CONCLUSION
Authors believe that the integration of a displacement based solid-shell formulation and partial-hybrid stress formulation can lead to an accurate and robust solid-shell element, which could be efficiently employed for the detailed stress analysis of LCS, which is the first crucial step in the prediction of delamination. This integrated element might have the following properties: a) simpler geometric and kinetic description like 3D solid elements, making it possible to stack them to model a laminate, b) accurate results in high element aspect ratios, making it suitable for the modelling of individual thin composite plies in a laminate, c) accurate and efficient interlaminar stress calculation through the laminate thickness, thus fulfilling interlaminar stress continuity through the laminate thickness and at the same time granting zero traction condition at the top and bottom surfaces of the laminate, d) use of the full 3D constitutive laws, e) automatic consideration of double-sided contact in sheet forming simulations, f) direct and accurate calculation of thickness variations.

Figure 2 Simply supported three-ply-laminate [0o/90o /0o] beam with sinusoidal loading. The fiber direction is along x-axis for [0o] layer and along y-axis for [90o] layer [15]

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Figure 3 Transverse shear stress distribution in thickness direction of a [0o/90o/0o] laminated simply supported beam

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4 SOLID-SHELL ELEMENT BASED ON THE PARTIAL-HYBRID STRESS FORMUALTION

The problem of delamination for LCS has been a great challenge for designers and researchers from the beginning, being investigated during the past decades.

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