Failure prediction of out-of-plane woven composite joints using cohesive element

An analysis method is established to predict delamination and/or filler crack of out-of-plane woven composite joints using cohesive elements. The actions of typical parameters about material, interfacial and computational aspects in definition of cohesive element are depicted and a parameter model is proposed. Considering the mode land mixed mode I/II are major failure modes in the out-of-plane composite joint, the proposed parameter model is validated through mode I test of a double cantilever beam (DCB) and mixed-mode bending (MMB) test. The physical failure mechanism of out-of-plane composite it joint under tensile load is characterized and validated against static test data. The predictions of ultimate load and failure patterns at initial and final failure show good agreements with the experimental outcomes, which give evidence of feasibility of the established method. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.