Journal of Reinforced Plastics and

Composites
http://jrp.sagepub.com/

Progressive Failure Analysis of Laminated Unstiffened and Stiffened Composite

Panels
B. Gangadhara Prusty
Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites 2005 24: 633
DOI: 10.1177/0731684405045023
The online version of this article can be found at:
http://jrp.sagepub.com/content/24/6/633

Published by:
http://www.sagepublications.com

Additional services and information for Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites can be found at:
Email Alerts: http://jrp.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts
Subscriptions: http://jrp.sagepub.com/subscriptions
Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav
Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
Citations: http://jrp.sagepub.com/content/24/6/633.refs.html

>> Version of Record - Mar 23, 2005

What is This?

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

Progressive Failure Analysis of Laminated

Unstiffened and Stiffened Composite Panels
B. GANGADHARA PRUSTY*
Department of Maritime Engineering
Australian Maritime College
P.O. Box 986, Launceston, Australia
ABSTRACT: Progressive failure analysis of laminated unstiffened and stiffened composite panels
has been carried out in the present investigation. The laminated panels under transverse static
loadings in the linear elastic range have been investigated using the finite element method. In the finite
element analysis of stiffened panels, eight-noded isoparametric quadratic elements in association
with the three-noded curved beam elements have been considered and the first-order shear
deformation theory is utilized. An iterative method has been adopted using the various failure
theories to predict the first-ply failure load. After the first-ply failure, the stiffness of the failed lamina
has been totally discarded from the laminate and the remaining laminae were considered for further
analysis. The progressive failure analysis using the TsaiWu failure criterion has been implemented
into a general-purpose finite element code to predict the failure loading from the initial to the final
stage.
KEY WORDS: progressive failure, stiffened panel, laminated composites, finite element analysis,
arbitrary stiffener.

INTRODUCTION
and technology, a composite is defined as a material
composed of stacked layers with fiber reinforcement held in proper location with the
rigid binder. A number of laminae are bonded together to obtain a laminate which stands
for a structural unit of a beam, plate, or shell. Accompanying the innovation of new,
stronger, and stiffer materials, rapid development in production technology has brought
about a revolution in the composites industry. Composites offer a superior performance
over the traditional materials in cost effectiveness, high specific strength and stiffness,
in-service reliability, durability, dimensional stability, excellent fatigue damage tolerance,
high internal damping and noncorroding behavior. Marine applications of composite
materials include the construction of high-performance craft, minehunters, underwater
vehicles, fast patrol boats, remotely operated vehicles, offshore platforms, and a large
variety of small craft.
Stiffened panels are classified as ribbed, cellular, or corrugated based on their structural
configurations. They are also categorized according to their stiffener geometry. In reality,
these stiffened panels are subjected to various transverse and in-plane loads. Investigation

N CURRENT ENGINEERING

*E-mail: G.Prusty@mte.amc.edu.au

Journal of REINFORCED PLASTICS

AND

COMPOSITES, Vol. 24, No. 6/2005

0731-6844/05/06 063310 $10.00/0

DOI: 10.1177/0731684405045023
2005 Sage Publications

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

633

634

B.G. PRUSTY

of the actual behavior of such structures in order to provide adequate strength and fatigue
endurance static analysis becomes necessary. The nature of failure of composite laminates
is more complicated than that of structures made of isotropic material. The most stressed
layer in a laminate fails first and the ultimate failure occurs when all the layers fail. To
predict the location and magnitude of failure load of a composite laminate under various
loads, static analysis is required to be extended to first-ply failure analysis and then to
ultimate failure analysis.
Extensive research work has been focused in recent years on the progressive failure
analysis of laminated composite structures. Ochoa and Reddy [1] presented an excellent
discussion on progressive failure. First-ply failure analysis of laminated composite plates
based on the first-order shear deformation theory has been developed by Reddy and
Pandey [2]. Pandey and Reddy [3] extended their work on first-ply failure analysis for the
progressive failure analysis. Ochoa and Engblom [4] presented a progressive failure analysis
for composite laminates in uniaxial tension using a higher-order plate theory with shear
deformable elements. Huang et al. [5] have implemented a progressive failure analysis of
composite laminates using triangular elements, which includes transverse shear effects.
A parabolic function has been utilized for the calculation of shear correction factors. Prusty
et al. [6] have carried out the first-ply failure analysis of laminated composite panels using
the method of finite elements. In a further investigation, Prusty et al. [7] extended their
work for the first-ply failure analysis of laminated stiffened composite panels. In their
investigation, they have utilized the arbitrarily oriented stiffener formulation and various
prominent failure theories for the estimation of first-ply failure load.
It is observed from the open literature that there still is a big void in the research
activities concerning the analysis of stiffened composite plates and shells where a reliable
and exhaustive investigation is greatly needed. A large number of elements for the finite
element analysis are available in the open literature and in the element libraries of the
existing commercial software packages. Hence, the development of a new element is not
required for the present investigation. In the available finite element packages, the mesh
division of the plate/shell element is made in accordance with the placement of stiffeners
within the plate structure. To reduce the computational complexity of the model, stiffeners
are required to pass through the nodal lines of plate elements. This concept may not be
applicable to all practical stiffened structures with arbitrary stiffener orientation. The
objective of the present investigation is to present a progressive failure analysis
methodology using the finite element method for laminated unstiffened and stiffened
composite panels under transverse loading cases.
PROGRESSIVE FAILURE ANALYSIS
Progressive failure analysis is based on the assumption that the damaged material can be
substituted with an equivalent material with degraded properties. However, it is not an
easy task to determine the degraded properties of the damaged material with certainty.
The most important property degradation models can be grouped into three categories, i.e.
(i) total discount approach, (ii) limited discount method, and (iii) residual property
method. The total discount approach has been utilized in this investigation. In this
approach elastic constants are taken as zero for the failed lamina. The new values of the
elements in the rigidity matrix of a laminate, which are the functions of the geometry,
material properties, and stacking sequence of the individual plies are then calculated.
Displacements and stresses are recalculated and the stresses for the remaining laminae are

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

635

Progressive Failure Analysis of Composite Panels

verified against the selected failure criteria to compute the failure load of the second
largest lamina that would fail immediately under the increased share of stresses. Hence the
progressive failure study for the plate/shell and the stiffener is carried out using ply-by-ply
analysis, which ultimately achieves the ultimate failure load. The flow chart (Figure 1)
shows the schematic procedure of progressive failure analysis.
Define Initial
State Load P0

Input for F.E.A., Compute nodal

Displacement for initial Load

Displacement for Pi = displacement P0

Compute Ply
Level Stress and Strain

Pi
P0

Shell
Stiffener

Compute failure index

using failure theories

Failure
Index

Failure Detected?

Pi = Pi + P

Apply Ply
Discount

Predict Ultimate
Ply Failure (UPF)
Load

Stop
Figure 1. Schematic procedure of the progressive failure analysis.

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

636

B.G. PRUSTY

FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION

Shell Element
The formulation of shell element has been carried out using an eight-noded isoparametric quadratic element with five degrees of freedom, i.e., u, v, w,
s , and
r . Based on the
assumptions adopted by Mindlin and Reissnar, a C0-continuity large curvature shell
element is used. The first-order shear deformation theory is adopted. Using shear
deformable theory for a doubly curved shell (Figure 2), the following strain terms are
considered for the derivation of the stiffness matrix of the shell element.
2

@u w


@s R1

7
6
7
6
7
6
@v w
7
6


7
6
8 9
7
6
@s
R
"
2
s >
>
7
6
>
>
>
>
7
6
>
>
>
>
@u
@v
7
6
>
>
"r >
>

7
6
>
>
>
>
@r
@s
7
6
>
>
>
>
>
>
7
6
"
>
sr >
>
>
7
6
@
r
>
>
>
>
7
6

z
>
>
< ks = 6
7
@s
7
6
6
7
@

>
>
7
6
s
k
>
>
r >
>
7
6

z
>
>
>
>
7
6
@r
>
>
>
>
6
> 6

>
ksr >




7

>
>
>
@v @u 7
>
>
7
6
z @
s @
r
1 1
1
>
>


>
>
7
6
>
>

s >
>
2
R
R
@s
@r
@s
@r
7
6
1
2
>
>
>
7
; 6
: >
7
6
r
@w
v
7
6



r
7
6
7
6
@s R2
7
6
5
4
@w
u



s
@r R1

where "0s , "0r . . . correspond to midplane strains and ks , kr , and krs correspond to curvatures.
Stiffener Element
The generalized strain components of the stiffener with respect to the reference axis
system of the stiffener is given by:
T

f"s g








@us w
@
s @ws
us @
rs

s



@s R
@s @s
R @s

Considering the eccentricity of the stiffener and employing necessary transformation that
is required from one cylindrical surface to the other, the straindisplacement matrix can be
expressed as:

f"s g

3
X

Bs i fs gi

i1

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

637

Progressive Failure Analysis of Composite Panels

Enlarged view of element A

Figure 2. Laminated stiffener in orthogonal curvilinear co-ordinate system.

where,
2 
e  @Ni
1


6
R @s
6
6
6
6
0
6
6
Bs i 6

6 1
6
1
e Ni
6 R
R
6
6
4
0


Ni
@2 Ni


e 2
R
@s

0
0

0

0
0


e
1
@Ni

R 1
e=R @s
0

3
0

1
1
e=R@Ni =@s

0

0
0

Ni


0

7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
@Ni 5

1
1
e=R @s

4
In order to take care of arbitrarily oriented stiffeners positioned anywhere within the shell
element, necessary transformations have been adopted. Since the nodes of the stiffener

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

638

B.G. PRUSTY

element are within the shell element, the nodal displacements of the stiffener element s
in terms of those of the shell element  are expressed as:
3
X

fs gi
T 

i1

8
X

fgr

r1

where the transformation matrix

2
6
6

T 

Nir

i1 r1

6
6
6
6
4

7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
5

Nir

3 X
8 6
X
6

Nir
O

Nir

Nir
and the orientation matrix
2

6
6
s
6
6

 6 0
6
6 0
4
0

0 1

0 0

0 0

s

7
07
7
7
07
7
s7
5

with c cos  and s sin .

The stressstrain relationship for the stiffener element is given by:
fs g Ds f"s g

where Ds  is the rigidity matrix of the stiffener. The rigidity matrix of the stiffener with
laminations parallel and perpendicular to the plate has been derived separately using the
standard procedure of laminate analysis for the following stress resultants (axial, flexural,
shear and torsion) as:
fFr gT fNr Mr Qr Tr gT

The stiffness matrix of the stiffener can be evaluated considering the strain energy of the
stiffener element as:
 
KS  T T
T K S
T 
where,



KS

Z
S

 
Bs Ds  Bs ds

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

10

639

Progressive Failure Analysis of Composite Panels

 
since, Bs  is the function of s only. The expression for K S is written as:


KS

Bs T Ds Bs jJ jd

11

1

 
The matrix K S is thus interpreted as the stiffness matrix of the stiffener, which
is independent of the shell nodes but with the displacements at the stiffener nodes along
the global co-ordinate system. Integration for the stiffness matrix is carried out using the
two-point integration method.
The stresses and strains are calculated at all the layers of the laminates used in the plate/
shell and the stiffener. Then the calculated stresses and strains are compared with the
permissible values as specified for the composite material in use. Various failure criteria
such as Maximum Stress, Maximum Strain, Hoffman, TsaiWu and TsaiHill have been
considered to estimate the first-ply failure load. Thus the weakest ply in the laminate is
detected. Once the first-ply failure load is indicated, the elastic properties of that lamina
are discounted fully and the same process is repeated until the entire ply fails in that
laminate. This process is repeated separately for the stiffener and plate/shell. The failure
load arrived at the end is considered as the ultimate failure load for the structure.
NUMERICAL RESULTS
Example 1: Cross-ply Laminated Panel
A cross-ply laminated plate [0/90/0/90] of dimensions 228.6 mm (900 )  127 mm (500 )
having equal lamina thickness of 0.127 mm (0.00500 ) is considered for the first-ply failure
analysis. Simply supported boundary condition at all the edges (displacement perpendicular to the edge is free and tangential to the edge is restricted) and uniformly distributed
transverse loading on the full plate is considered. The material of the plate is T300/5208
graphiteepoxy whose properties are presented in Table 1. Reddy and Pandey [2] have
evaluated the first-ply failure values of the same example using four-noded and nine-noded
elements. The first-ply failure values evaluated using the present approach for the plate are
in excellent agreement with those of Reddy and Pandey [2]. Parametric study is carried out
by varying the ratio of the radius of curvature (R) to the span (a 228.6 mm) and the
failure loads obtained are presented in Table 2. It can be observed that the Maximum
Table 1. Material properties of T300/5208 graphiteepoxy.
Properties
E1
E2
G12 G13
G23
12 13
23
XT
XC
YT YC
XS

Values
1.324  105 N/mm2
1.07  104 N/mm2
0.56  104 N/mm2
0.34  104 N/mm2
0.24
0.49
1514.0 N/mm2
1996.7 N/mm2
43.8 N/mm2
87.0 N/mm2

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

640

B.G. PRUSTY
Table 2. First-ply failure loads for cross-ply laminated panel.
First-ply Failure Loads in N/mm2  10
3 for Curvature Ratio (R/a)
1  1030 (Plate)

Failure Theories
Maximum stress
Maximum strain
Hoffman
TsaiWu
TsaiHill

100

Reddy and
Pandey [2]

Present
4.0140
4.2899
3.9727
4.0830
2.4967

1000

(0.5820)
(0.6220)
(0.5760)
(0.5920)
(0.3620)

(0.5768)
(0.6280)
(0.5752)
(0.5976)
(0.3160)

10

Present Values
4.0140
4.3120
4.0140
4.0913
2.4346

4.1519
4.5603
4.1519
4.3051
2.3049

16.9390
16.9390
16.9390
16.9390
11.4021

94.7096
94.7096
94.7096
94.7096
61.0515

*Values in parenthesis are in psi.

254

254
[/-/]

2.54

25.4
2.54

UDL = 0.013876 N/mm2

Section A-A
All dimensions are in mm
Figure 3. Panel and stiffener dimensions for square stiffened laminated panel.

Stress, Maximum Strain, Hoffman and TsaiWu theories predict the same failure loads for
R/a  10.
Example 2: Blade-stiffened Laminated Panel Under Uniformly Distributed Load
A blade-stiffened laminated composite plate under uniformly distributed load has been
considered for the progressive failure analysis in the present investigation. The geometry,
loading, and lamination sequence in the plate and stiffener are shown in Figure 3. The
material properties of T300/5208 graphiteepoxy composite material used in the previous
example (Table 1) have been considered. Two types of lamination schemes [90/0/90] and
[15/
15/15] in the shell and the stiffener have been adopted in this case. The boundary

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

641

Progressive Failure Analysis of Composite Panels

Table 3. Progressive ply failure load (N/mm2  10
3) for square stiffened laminated
panel with cross-ply lamination [90/0/90] in the shell and stiffener, under uniformly
distributed load.
Failure Load
1st Ply

2nd Ply

Ply
Number

R/a
1  1030
100
10
5
1

1
1
1
1
1

3rd Ply

Ply
Number
0.0861
0.0859
0.0859
0.0959
0.3111

UPF

Ply
Number

3
3
3
3
3

0.4291
0.4291
0.4461
0.5072
0.6811

2
2
2
2
2

0.4361
0.4361
0.4561
0.5321
0.9799

0.4361
0.4361
0.4561
0.5321
0.9799

Table 4. Progressive ply failure load (N/mm2  10
3) for square stiffened laminated
panel with angle-ply lamination [15/
15/15] in the shell and stiffener, under
uniformly distributed load.
Failure Load
1st Ply
R/a
1  1030
100
10
5
1

2nd Ply

Ply
Number
3
3
3
3
3

3rd Ply

Ply
Number
0.0381
0.0381
0.0401
0.0451
0.1261

2
2
2
2
2

UPF

Ply
Number
0.0571
0.0581
0.0601
0.0681
0.2261

1
1
1
1
1

0.0701
0.0701
0.0731
0.0759
0.2851

0.0701
0.0701
0.0731
0.0759
0.2851

condition is considered as simply supported at all the edges. The structure is analyzed here
using the present formulation for progressive ply failure analysis of stiffened panels using
the failure theory presented by Tsai and Wu.
Results for stiffened cylindrical shell with various curvature ratios (radii (R) to span (a))
are presented in Tables 3 and 4 for the cross-ply and angle-ply lamination schemes
respectively. The ply failure loads obtained with 8  8 mesh divisions for the full panel
adopting the steps in flow chart (Figure 1), illustrate the proposed method. In all the cases
the plate/shell laminate fails prior to the stiffener laminate and the location of failure is
at the center of the plate/shell, thus, the ultimate ply failure (UPF) load is determined.
With the curvature ratio (R/a) up to 10, the failure loads in both the cases are same.
However, with the decrease in the curvature ratio further, the ultimate ply failure load
increases substantially. The order of ply failure in the angle-ply stiffened panel differs from
the cross-ply due to the change in the directional properties of the ply in each layer.
CONCLUSIONS
Progressive failure analysis methodology using the total discount method has been
presented for the laminated stiffened composite panels. The finite element formulation
using eight-noded isoparametric element for the plate/shell and three-noded curved beam

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012

642

B.G. PRUSTY

element for the arbitrarily oriented stiffener with the equal displacement concept at the
shellstiffener junction is utilized. Most prominent failure theories were considered for the
first-ply failure analysis and the TsaiWu theory has been considered for the progressive
failure analysis. Ultimate ply failure loads for the stiffened panels with cross-ply and
angle-ply laminations in the shell and the stiffener have been estimated using the proposed
method.
REFERENCES
1. Ochoa, O. and Reddy, J. N. (1992). Finite Element Analysis of Composite Laminates, Kluwer Academic
Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
2. Reddy, J. N. and Pandey, A. K. (1987). A First-ply Failure Analysis of Composite Laminates, Computers and
Structures, 25: 371393.
3. Pandey, A. K. and Reddy, J. N. (1987). A Post First-ply Failure Analysis of Composite Laminates, AIAA
Paper 870898, In: Proceedings of the AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC 28th Structures, Structural Dynamics
and Materials Conference, pp. 788797.
4. Ochoa, O. O. and Engblom, J. J. (1987). Analysis of Failure in Composites, Composite Science and
Technology, 28: 87102.
5. Huang, C., Bouth, A. B. and Verchery, G. (1993). Progressive Failure Analysis of Laminated Composites with
Transverse Shear Effects, J. Composite Behaviour, Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on
Composite Materials, Woodhead Publishing Limited, University of Zaragoza.
6. Prusty, B. G., Ray, C. and Satsangi, S. K. (2001). First Ply Failure Analysis of Laminated Panels Under
Transverse Loading, Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites, 19(8): 671684.
7. Prusty, B. G., Ray, C. and Satsangi, S. K. (2001). First Ply Failure Analysis of Laminated Stiffened Panels
A Finite Element Approach, Composite Structures, 51(1): 7381.
8. Prusty, B. G. and Satsangi, S. K. (2001). Finite Element Transient Dynamic Analysis of Laminated Stiffened
Shells, Journal of Sound and Vibration, 248(2): 215233.

Downloaded from jrp.sagepub.com by umesh c k on October 29, 2012