Progressive delamination of laminated composites via 1D models

This paper presents a novel numerical framework to simulate the progressive delamination in laminated structures based on 1D component-wise models. The proposed numerical tool is a part of the virtual testing platform built within the Carrera Unified Formulation, a hierarchical, higher-order structural framework to generate theories of structures via a variable kinematic approach. Formulated within the Lagrange polynomial CUF models, the component-wise approach models the components of a complex structure through 1D CUF models at reduced computational costs and 3D-like accuracies. The effectiveness of CUF-CW models to capture accurate 3D transverse fields are of interest to solve delamination problems by integrating a class of higher-order cohesive elements to simulate the cohesive mechanics among the various components of the structure. The present framework adopts a bilinear constitutive law based on the mixed-mode delamination propagation and an efficient arc-length solver based on an energy-dissipation constraint. The numerical results aim to verify the accuracy and computational efficiency of CUF-CW models through benchmark composite delamination problems including multiple delamination fronts and comparisons with reference literature solutions and standard 3D FEM models. The outcomes show multi-fold improvements in the analysis times, good matches with experimental results, and promising enhancements of the meshing process due to the absence of aspect ratio constraints.