A new material model for 2D FE analysis of adhesively bonded composite joints

Abstract

Effective and convenient stress analysis techniques play important roles in the analysis and design of adhesively bonded composite joints. A new material model is presented at the level of composite ply according to the orthotropic elastic mechanics theory and plane strain assumption. The model proposed has the potential to reserve nature properties of laminates with ply-to-ply modeling. The equivalent engineering constants in the model are obtained only by the material properties of unidirectional composites. Based on commercial FE software ABAQUS, a 2D FE model of a single-lap adhesively bonded joint was established conveniently by using the new model without complex modeling process and much professional knowledge. Stress distributions in adhesive were compared with the numerical results by Tsai and Morton and interlaminar stresses between adhesive and adherents were compared with the results from a detailed 3D FE analysis. Good agreements in both cases verify the validity of the proposed model.