Numerical Fatigue Life Simulation of Cross-ply Laminates

The advantages of using fiber reinforced plastics, composed of carbon fibers embedded in a polymeric resin, for aerospace structures have been recognized for many years. In this study, a 2D finite element modeling was carried out on pin-loaded carbon/epoxy cross-ply laminates using ABAQUS/Standard. A user material subroutine was developed to apply progressive fatigue damage (PFD) model in principal coordinate system of constitutive ply in FE analysis. PFD Model is based on critical element concept, nonlinear shear stress analysis and energy based life prediction. In this case on-axis plies are considered as critical elements and control the final failure of the laminate. Effects of material nonlinearity on final failure and damage propagation was thoroughly discussed. Predictions of numerical model showed a good correlation with experimental data published in the literature.