Delamination buckling of a laminated composite shell panel using cohesive zone modelling

Laminated composite shell panels take part in several engineering structures. Due to their complex nature, failure modes in composites are highly dependent on the geometry, direction of loading and orientation of the fibers. However, the design of composite parts is still a delicate task because of these fiber failure modes, which includes matrix failure modes or other so-called interlaminar interface failure such as delamination, that corresponds to the separation of adjacent layers of the laminate as a consequence of the weakening of interface layer between them. In this work, impact-induced delamination represented as a circular single delamination is investigated, as it can reduce greatly the structural integrity without getting detected. Furthermore, attention is focused on its effect upon the post-buckling response and the compressive strength of a composite panel. The delamination buckling was modelled using the cohesive element technique under Abaqus software, in order to predict delamination growth and damage propagation while observing their effects on the critical buckling load.

Study on Synchronous Propagation Behavior of Hydraulic Fractures and Cementing Interfacial Cracks during Fracturing of Shale Horizontal Wells

Large-scale staged hydraulic fracturing stimulation technology is an effective method to increase shale oil and gas recovery. However, cracks will appear along with the cementing interface and expand under the drive of fluid while hydraulic fracturing, failing wellbore sealing. To solve this problem, the synchronous propagation model of hydraulic fractures and cementing interfacial cracks in hydraulic fracturing is established. The Newton iteration method and displacement discontinuity method are used to solve the propagation length of each fracture, and the effects of cement sheath parameters and fracture parameters on the interface failure range are studied. The results show that when multiple hydraulic fractures expand, the interfacial cracks are also affected by “stress shadow,” offering an asymmetric expansion, and the cementing interfacial cracks in the area between hydraulic fractures are easier to expand. The failure range of interface between the hydraulic fractures expands rapidly if the cement elastic modulus increases from 5 GPa to 10 GPa; while the cement elastic modulus is higher than 10 GPa, the failure area is mainly affected by the number of hydraulic fractures; the failure range is not affected by the number of hydraulic fractures if the hydraulic fracture spacing is less than 10 m or more than 30 m; while the crack spacing is between 10 m and 30 m, the more the number of hydraulic fractures, the easier it is to cause the interface failure range to increase and connect. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the optimization of cement slurry systems and fracturing parameters.

Parametric Analysis on Three-Points Bending Test of Typical Skin-Stringer Structure

Stringer-skin debonding was one of the most important failure models in stiffened composite panels. In this paper, three-points bending tests were performed on representative stringer-skin structure of composite wing to simulate the flange-skin interface behavior and to obtain the failure mode and failure load. A 3D finite element model was built by using ABAQUS software to simulate interface failure with cohesive zone model. The numerical results agree well with test data, which validate the rationality of the finite element model. Hence the influence of factors during manufacture, installation and test in three-points bending tests, such as off-axis displacement, inclination loading and span, is studied. Results show that the initial debonding load and failure load of specimen decrease as the displacement from loading axis to central axis increases. The load of specimen decreases as the span increases. The influence of inclination loading is insignificant when the inclination angle is less than 6 degree. However, the initial debonding load and failure load of specimen decreases in varying degrees as the inclination loads increases. Furthermore, the initial debonding load decreases rapidly.

Effect of Service Temperature on Mechanical Properties of Adhesive Joints after Hygrothermal Aging

Polyurethane adhesive and aluminum alloy were selected to make adhesive joints. Butt joints tested at different loading angles (0°, 45°, and 90°) using a modified Arcan fixture were selected to represent three stress states (normal stress, normal/shear combined stress, and shear stress, respectively). Firstly, the accelerated aging tests were carried out on the joints in a hygrothermal environment (80 °C/95% RH). The quasi-static tests were carried out at different temperatures (−40 °C, 20 °C, and 80 °C) for the joints after hygrothermal aging for different periods. The variation rules of the joints’ mechanical properties and failure modes with different aging levels were studied. The results show that the failure load of the joints was obviously affected by stress state and temperature. In the low-temperature test, the failure load of the joints decreased most obviously, and the BJ was the most sensitive to temperature, indicating that the failure load decreased more with the increase of the normal stress ratio in the joint. Through macroscopic and SEM analysis of the failure section, it was found that the hydrolysis reaction of polyurethane adhesive itself and the interface failure of the joints were the main reasons for the decrease of joint strength. The failure models were established to characterize the adhesive structure with different aging levels at service temperature.

A Mixed Numerical-Experimental Method to Characterize Metal-Polymer Interfaces for Crash Applications

Metallic (M) and polymer (P) materials as layered hybrid metal-polymer-metal (MPM) sandwiches offer a wide range of applications by combining the advantages of both material classes. The interfaces between the materials have a considerable impact on the resulting mechanical properties of the composite and its structural performance. Besides the fact that the experimental methods to determine the properties of the single constituents are well established, the characterization of interface failure behavior between dissimilar materials is very challenging. In this study, a mixed numerical–experimental approach for the determination of the mode I energy release rate is investigated. Using the example of an interface between a steel (St) and a thermoplastic polyolefin (PP/PE), the process of specimen development, experimental parameter determination, and numerical calibration is presented. A modified design of the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) is utilized to characterize the interlaminar properties and a tailored experimental setup is presented. For this, an inverse calibration method is used by employing numerical studies using cohesive elements and the explicit solver of LS-DYNA based on the force-displacement and crack propagation results.