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A 3D Damage Model for Simulating Damage Modes in Fibre Metal Laminates
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This work focuses on developing a 3D finite element model that aims to predict the mechanical response and failure mechanisms of Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs). FMLs are hybrid materials that are composed of thin metal layers reinforced with fibre composites such as glass laminate aluminium reinforced epoxy (GLARE) [1]. Investigating the failure modes of FMLs are quite challenging as it contains three materials (metal, fibre, and matrix) with different mechanical behaviours and failure mechanisms. Therefore, this research considers various material models and failure criteria to investigate the failure of FMLs. The current model investigates damage initiation and evolution of FML constituents in an open-hole tensile test. Where Puck’s 3D failure criteria are utilized to predict the damage initiation in the fibre and matrix, which are known as fibre fracture (FF) and inter-fibre fracture (IFF), and predict the fracture plane [2,3]. A crucial aspect of the current model is predicting the 3D stress components acting on the fracture plane using an efficient numerical method and applying it to find the IFF. This concept gives the model an advantage of calculating the out of plane stresses which are expected to provide accurate damage initiation predictions [4]. Finally, a plastic material model along with a ductile damage criterion are implemented in the model to study the failure of the metal layers in FMLs.