FEA of Composites Classical Lamination Theory Example 1

22.514 Instructor: Professor James Sherwood Author: Dimitri Soteropoulos

Problem Description: A four layer [0/90]s graphite-epoxy composite laminate subjected to an axial load is considered (Figure 1). A finite element model will be constructed using Abaqus/CAE 6.11-2 where the principal stresses in the respective plies will be analyzed.

Figure 1. [0/90]s Laminate [Hyer, 2009] An analytical solution for this example can be found in Stress Analysis of Fiber-Reinforced Composite Materials, Hyer text, pp. 254-262. The given material properties and loading conditions can be seen in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively. Table 1. Graphite-Epoxy Material Properties Material Property Value E1 155.0 GPa E2 12.10 GPa 0.248 12 G12 4.40 GPa G13 4.40 GPa G23 3.20 GPa Table 2. Loading Conditions Load Value 1000 x 10-6 x 0 y 0 xy

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Creating the Model Geometry A 1m x 1m plate will be created for the model geometry. Since the CLT example in Hyer does not specify the length or width of the laminate, a unit dimension plate will be adequate for the analysis. Open Abaqus/ CAE 6.11-2 by clicking Start -> Abaqus 6.11-2 -> Abaqus CAE. Double click Parts in the model tree and create a part as shown below:

Click Continue Using the Create Lines: Rectangle (4 Lines) tool draw a rectangle of arbitrary dimensions in the viewport. Dimension the rectangle using the Add Dimension tool such that the base and height are both 1 unit. Press F6 on the computer keyboard to auto-fit the rectangle to the viewport.

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Press Esc on the computer keyboard to exit the Add Dimension tool. Click Done to exit the Sketch Mode. A solid grey colored shell should be visible in the viewport as seen below:

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Defining Material Properties Double click Materials in the model tree and create a material as shown below. The material properties can be found in Table 1 of the problem description.

Click OK. Creating a Composite Layup A four ply [0/90]s laminate will be defined using the Composite Layup Editor. In the editor the region, materials, ply orientation, and thickness will be assigned to the geometry. This step is similar to creating and assigning a section for an isotropic material analysis. Expand the Parts (1) entry in the model tree by clicking the + to the left of it. Further expand the model tree by clicking the + next to the part called Laminate. Double click Composite Layups and create a 4 ply composite layup as shown below.

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Click Continue and the Edit Composite Layup dialog box will appear. Double click Region under the Plies tab and the dialog box will disappear. Now, click the shell that was created and it should turn a red color signifying a proper selection, and click Done. The Edit Composite Layup dialog box will reappear and the 4 individual plies will show (Picked) under their respective Region.

This last step assigned the plies in the composite layup to a particular region of the part. If multiple composite layups are desired for one part, partitioning the geometry allows the user to assign different layups to different regions. Double click Material in the Edit Composite Layup dialog box and the Select Material dialog box will appear. Since only one material has been created for this analysis, GraphiteEpoxy is preselected. Click OK to assign this material to all 4 plies.

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Next, a thickness will be assigned to each ply. The problem statement defines a 0.150 mm thickness for each ply, but since conventional SI units are being used we will enter the thickness using meters. (Note: the length and width of the laminate was sketched to be 1m x 1m, and the material properties were entered in Pa, therefore consistent dimensional units of meters should be used throughout the model) Double click Thickness in the Edit Composite Layup dialog box and the Thickness dialog box will appear. Enter a value of 0.000150 in the Specify Value: option and click OK.

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The final step in creating the composite layup is to assign fiber orientation to each of the plies. The stacking sequence for this laminate is [0/90]s therefore rotation angles of 0,90,90,0 will be defined in the laminate. The rotation angle is calculated with respect to the 1-Reference axis. Since this model is using the global coordinate system to define material orientation, the global x axis is the 1-Reference axis. Enter 0,90,90,0 in the Rotation Angle boxes for plies 1 through 4, respectively.

Click OK to complete the composite layup. The model should now turn a turquoise color. View a Ply Stack Plot At the top of the screen click Tools -> Query and click Ply stack plot under Property Module Queries. Next click anywhere on the model and a new viewport will appear with a ply stack plot.

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The Ply Stack Plot graphically displays the orientation of the reinforcements in a composite layup as well as the layer thickness and ply name. The thickness of the plot is not relative to the actual thickness to the laminate but rather just a graphical representation of ply orientation. Exit the ply stack plot by closing out the plot viewport and maximizing the parts viewport. Generating a Mesh Double click Mesh (Empty) in the model tree and the part will turn a pink color. Using the Seed Part tool, create a global seed with an Approximate global size: of 0.1. Click Mesh Part to generate the mesh.

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Creating an Instance Expand the Assembly option in the model tree and double click Instances. Create an instance of the part called Laminate by clicking OK. Creating a Step Double click Steps (1) in the model tree and create a General, Static, General Step. Accept all defaults for this step. Expand the Field Output Requests (1) in the model tree if it is not already expanded. Double click on FOutput-1 and change the Domain: to Composite Layup. At the bottom of the Edit Field Output Request dialog box chose the All section points in all plies option. Click OK. Applying Boundary Conditions Double click BCs in the model tree and create a Mechanical, Symmetry/Antisymmetry/Encastre boundary condition on the left vertical edge of the laminate. The edge will turn red denoting a proper selection.

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Click Done. Choose PINNED (U1 = U2 = U3 = 0) in the Edit Boundary Condition dialog box. Click OK. Next, a y-constraint boundary condition will be applied to the model. Create another BC of Mechanical, Symmetry/Antisymmetry/Encastre type on the top and bottom horizontal edges of the laminate. Hold Shift on the keyboard to simultaneously select multiple edges.

Click Done. Choose YSYMM (U2 = UR1 = UR3 = 0) in the Edit Boundary Condition dialog box. Click OK. The final constrained model should look similar to the figure below.

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Applying a Load An extensional strain of 1000 x 10-6 will be applied to the model in the form of an x direction displacement. Double click BCs in the model tree and create a Mechanical, Displacement/Rotation type boundary condition. Ensure that Step-1 is selected in the Step: option in the Create Boundary Condition dialog box. Click the right vertical edge of the laminate and click Done. Check the box next to U1: and enter a value of 0.001.

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Click OK. Small orange arrows pointing in the positive x direction will appear on that edge. This represents a laminate stretched, or extended, in the x direction but with no associated Poisson contraction in the y direction, and with no inplane shear strain and no curvature effects.

Create and Run a Job Double click Jobs in the model tree and create a Job called 090s. Accept all defaults and click OK. Expand the Jobs (1) option in the model tree and right click the 090s job and click Submit. When the analysis has completed, the Message Area at the bottom of the screen should look similar to the figure shown below.

Viewing Results Right click the job 090s (Completed) in the model tree and click Results. You will automatically be entered into the Visualization module where the model has turned green and is oriented in an isometric view.

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Click the Plot Contours on Deformed Shape icon in the module and the Von Mises stress contour will appear.

The principal stresses are to be compared to the analytical solution therefore contours of S11 and S22 are to be viewed for each individual ply of the laminate. At the top of the screen change the dropdown selection from Mises to S11. The contour will not change, however the stress values listed in the legend will.

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Another way to determine the stress in an element is to query the element. At the top of the screen click Tools -> Query and click Element under General Queries. Next click any of the elements on the model and the S11 value will appear in the Message Area at the bottom of the screen.

At the top of the screen, change S11 to S22 and repeat the procedure to query the stress in the 2 direction.

The above S11 and S22 values were the analysis results of the Ply 1 (0 degree orientation) in the laminate. The stress will now be determined in the remaining 3 plies. At the top of the screen click Result -> Section Points change the Selection method: to Plies in the Section Points dialog box. This is where each of the plies can be selected and the results can then be extracted using the above method. A table summarizing the S11 S22 and S12 values for the 4 plies of the laminate is shown below.

Orientation S11 (Pa) Ply 1 Ply 2 Ply 3 Ply 4

S22 (Pa)

S12 (Pa)

3.015E06 1.766E-08 1.215E07 -3.187E-08 1.215E07 -3.187E-08 3.015E06 1.766E-08

This concludes the FEA of Composites Classical Lamination Theory Example 1 Tutorial. The results from the analysis can be compared to the solution in Hyer pp 256.

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