A progressive failure theory for woven polymer-based composites subjected to dynamic loading

A progressive failure approach, applicable to woven polymer-based composites is developed and validated with experiments. Constitutive equations are formulated to characterize the mechanical response for fully non-linear, rate dependent, anisotropic behavior under dynamic loading. A mechanistic fiber failure theory is implemented, while a degradation model describes the stiffness reductions after failure. The approach is implemented in the Abaqus finite element code using a user material subroutine (UMAT) that defines the constitutive theory and implements the progressive failure methodology. The progressive failure approach is validated using basic tension and open hole tension experiments. The tests are performed using digital image correlation, which provides the complete non-uniform strain and displacement fields. The validation testing has included cases involving large deformations, where strains to failure are as high as 20%. The simulation results are in good agreement with experimental data. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.