Modeling

Layered
Composites
the Simple Way

Mark Swenson
Lead Application Engineer
ANSYS Mpls

Presented at the 2012 Confidence by Design Workshop

Minneapolis, MN May 8, 2012
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 Agenda

Composites Overview

ANSYS Solutions for Layered

Composites

Demonstration

Q&A

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 Modeling Layered Composites
the Simple Way

Composites
Overview

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 Composites offer
tremendous
weight savings,
increased
performance, and
design flexibility

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 The composites
market is a
relatively young,
fast growing and
technologically
evolving market

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 Designing parts
with these
materials can be
challenging
without
appropriate tools

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 ANSYS develops
tools to
thoroughly
investigate
composites
designs up to
advanced failure
analysis, with
unparalleled ease
of use.

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 Modeling Layered Composites
the Simple Way

ANSYS Solutions
for Layered
Composites

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 Developing & Delivering
Simulation Solutions

Simulation Driven Product Development:

Innovative & higher-quality products
Dramatic time-to-market improvement
Minimize development, warranty & liability costs

Paper taken from ERA Report 99-0808

Safety on Offshore Installations - Conference Proceedings, 30 November - 1 December 1999,
ISBN 0-7008-0700-4, available from ERA Technology Ltd, Cleeve Road, Leatherhead, Surrey,
KT21 7SA, UK. Details of the full proceedings are available at shop.era.co.uk

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
What makes composites analysis challenging?
Layered composites simulation requires:
Orthotropic material stiffness terms (Es, Gs, nus)
Lamina (ply) thickness
Fiber Orientation draping
Understanding of stacking sequence implications
Orthotropic strengths
Understanding of numerous potential modes of failure and the various
failure theories

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Where does ANSYS stand with composite capabilities?
ANSYS is not new to modeling composites:
Layered shell and solid elements for more than 2 decades
Multi-material beams, with support for multiple layers and multiple
section integrations
Temp-Dep ortho material props with structural temps at each layer Shell
Composite PrepPost adds ease of use and results evaluation
Integration into Workbench allows for rapid design studies
VCCT and CZM, to characterize delamination and debonding for 7
years.
Recent addition of progressive damage to characterize post first ply
failure

Layered Solid
Discrete/Smeared Solid-Shell
Reinforcement

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 The bilinear traction-
Cohesive Zone Model separation law is used for
Exponential CZM Law contact elements
Debonding of a composite beam

Cohesive zone
modeling to
simulate
debonding or
crack growth

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 Mat. 1

Mat. 2

VCCT is
available to
compute
fracture
mechanics
parameters

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 VCCT-Based Crack Growth
Simulation
VCCT Examples
End Notched Flexure (ENF) Specimen

Results from published paper

ANSYS R14
Reference: Progressive crack growth analysis using interface element based on the virtual
crack closure technique by De Xiea and Sherrill B. Biggers Jr. Finite Elements in Analysis
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 Start of damage (layer 1)

Progressed damage (layer 1)

Progressed damage (layer 3)

Progressive Damage
Analysis available at
14.0

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
What do we mean by Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently?
Highlight several focus area for this discussion:
Allow for geometric design changes to model
Make changes to layup, ply locations, and orientations
Incorporate fluid/thermal loading directly from CFD
Incorporate loading from external data or other simulations
Solve structural simulations all off the same unified model
Static (linear & non-linear)
Buckling (linear & non-linear)
Transient Dynamic
Linear Dynamics
Explicit (Bird Strike, Drop Test, Crash and Impact, etc.)
Ease of post-processing of composite results

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
How can recent advances in ANSYS facilitate composite simulations ?
Lets start with the workflow in ANSYS Workbench for incorporating
composites in a typical design:
Composite PrepPost integrated into Workbench workflow
Upstream changes in design propagate through to the results
In this example we might look at sensitivity of geometry size, shape or layups
to deformation, natural frequencies, and failure margin

Materials, Composite
Model/Cleanup Layups & Mesh B/Cs and Simulations Post-Processing

Design Studies

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Composites PrepPost is used to define the layup. Here we see the part
thickness, cross-sections, and fiber orientations

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Defining the layup with PrepPost
Material Data Oriented Layup
Fabrics/Stackups Element Sets
Layup Area

Layup Direction

Reference Direction

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Make changes to layup, ply locations, orientations
Here we change the width of the doubler shown in red

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Make parametric changes to ply dimensions

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Fiber orientation prediction and modification

Use internal draping calculations

Interface with Vistagys FiberSim
Modify the fiber orientation to something
that is actually observed on the
manufacturing floor.
For this we use multiple rosettes (local Green parallel to rosette, Blue draped prediction
coordinate systems) specifying the angle
to match the measured at known
locations, and let PrepPost interpolate in
between.

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Asymmetric laminate definitions

Multiple overlapping oriented-element

sets used to define asymmetric layups

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Incorporate fluid/thermal loading directly from CFD
(1-way and 2-way FSI)

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Incorporate, transform, and validate loading from other simulations

Data Mapping
Pressure
Temperature
Heat Transfer
Thickness
Displacements

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Solve structural simulations all off the same unified model
Pressure loading, modal, and non-linear buckling example

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Solve structural simulations all off the same unified model
Pressure loading, modal, and tip load non-linear buckling

IRF - Distributed Pressure 2nd Natural Freq = 174 Hz IRF 4 Tip Displacement
Change spar chord location, wing taper, rib position, add stiffener plies to skin
Geometry, mesh, orientations, draping, properties, and results all updated

IRF - Distributed Pressure 2nd Natural Freq = 241 Hz IRF 4 Tip Displacement
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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Perform what-if studies
Here we look at how the tip deflection and 2nd natural frequency change with the
1st rib spanwise location.

Create response
surfaces for
optimization

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Ease of post-processing of composite results

Results Interrogation
Worst case failure criteria over all layers
shows
Hm (1) Hashin matrix Layer 1
Pick element and see stress/strain and failure
through the thickness

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Explicit dynamic model uses same composite setup
Bird-Strike, Drop Test, Crash and Impact, etc.
Simple setup for Eulerian mesh

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Radome Case Study

Connections

Deformations from FSI

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 Modeling Layered Composites
Efficiently
Radome Case Study Bird Strike

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 Summary

Composites simulations with ANSYS

Setup model one time, make changes to examine what if
Look at sensitivities of design changes
Investigate damage tolerance to flaws
Investigate post first ply failure
Simple Drag-and-Drop Multiphysics
Easily incorporate thermal, fluids, and pressures
Additional capability to import 3rd party data
Improve design fidelity by optimization
One single framework ANSYS Workbench

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