Modeling of damage evaluation in thin composite plate loaded by pressure loading

Abstract

This article presents the results of numerical analysis of elastic damage of thin laminated long fiber-reinforced composite plate consisting of unidirectional layers which is loaded by uniformly distributed pressure. The analysis has been performed by means of the finite element method (FEM). The numerical implementation uses layered plate finite elements based on the Kirchhoff plate theory. System of nonlinear equations has been solved by means of the Newton-Raphson procedure. Evolution of damage has been solved using the return-mapping algorithm based on the continuum damage mechanics (CDM). The analysis was performed using own program created in MATLAB. Problem of laminated fiber-reinforced composite plate fixed on edges for two different materials and three different laminate stacking sequences (LSS) was simulated. Evolution of stresses vs. strains and also evolution of damage variables in critical points of the structure are shown.