Micro mechanics based prognosis of progressive dynamic damage in advanced aerospace composite structures

Analysis of advanced composites has significantly improved in recent years, leading to their successful integration into primary aerospace structures. This has been brought about by improvements in computational methodologies, primarily finite element (FE) analysis methods. However, there are particular difficulties associated with prediction of delamination using current FE approaches. The intricate architecture of fibres and matrix at the 'micro' level often cannot be captured with conventional FE techniques. Therefore, there is a growing interest in applying micro-mechanics based constitutive modelling techniques to predict damage in advanced composites. Micro/macro-mechanics approach has shown excellent accuracy and efficiency in comparison with common FE methodologies. This investigation aims to study and compare delamination prediction in a low-energy impact scenario in FE versus micro-mechanics based constitutive modelling platforms. It will be argued that through using constitutive modelling, the precision of the analysis will significantly increase without intensive calibration efforts. This form of modelling can rather easily be implemented into design and certification analyses of future advanced aerospace composite structural concepts.