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<https://caeai.com/resources>/ Using Composites Analysis to Predict
Interlaminar Stresses

Using Composites Analysis to Predict Interlaminar Stresses

There is much confusion about what interlaminar stresses are and how to
calculate them using composites analysis. Interlaminar stresses are the
source of failure mechanisms uniquely characteristic of composite
materials; their existence is a major reason that laminated composites
tend to delaminate near free edges, such as an edge of a plate or around
a hole. However, there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding of how to
define interlaminar stresses and how to predict them using finite
element analysis.

*Interlaminar Stresses - What Are They?*

Referring to the picture below, interlaminar stresses are the

out-of-plane stresses z, xz, and yz, defined at the interfaces
between layers in a laminated composite material. From the figure, it is
clear that a tensile z along an interface would tend to separate the
layers along the interface, and the interlaminar shear stresses would
tend to shear apart the interface in the corresponding directions.

composite-analysis.jpg
<https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis.jpg>

* Edit <https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis.jpg>
* Delete <https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis.jpg>

<https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis.jpg>

*That Doesn't Sound So Bad, So What's the Big Deal?*

There are actually two main complications associated with interlaminar

stresses. The first is that delaminations generally initiate at a free
edge, so these are the critical regions where we would like to predict
the interlaminar stresses. Unfortunately, it has been shown that
interlaminar stresses are singular at free edges, i.e. as you approach
the free edge, the interlaminar stresses tend to infinity based on the
theory of elasticity. The second issue is that accurate interlaminar
stresses, even in regions away from free edges, can be a challenge to
predict using finite element analysis. Both of these issues will be
addressed in this article.

*The Free Edge Singularity*

The free edge singularity is graphically shown in the figure below.

Simply put, the value of the interlaminar stress is typically
well-behaved away from a free edge, but tends to infinity as it nears
the free edge. Thus, any prediction of interlaminar stresses at a free
edge using finite elements will be mesh-dependent, i.e. as the mesh is
refined, the value of the interlaminar stress at the free edge will
continue to increase and is indeed unbounded. Because it is this
behavior that leads to delamination, how does one address this issue?
There is no globally accepted solution, but the most common approaches
are to characterize the near edge stress behavior, such as using the
value some representative distance from the edge (often equal to a layer
thickness) and compare to test or other configurations to correlate the
behavior using composites analysis.

composite-analysis2.jpg
<https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis2.jpg>

* Edit <https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis2.jpg>
* Delete <https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis2.jpg>

<https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis2.jpg>

There are other approaches used to predict delamination, such as the

cohesive zone model and virtual crack closure technique, but these do
not directly use the interlaminar stresses, so we won't discuss them in
this article.

*Predicting Interlaminar Stresses Using Finite Element Analysis*

The most direct way to accurately predict interlaminar stresses using

composites analysis is to create a mesh of 3D elements, with at least
one and ideally more than one element through the thickness of each
layer of the laminate. The interlaminar stresses can then be extracted
directly from the full stress tensor, noting that _z , _xz , and _yz
are all continuous across the layer boundaries (the corresponding
strains are not necessarily continuous across layer boundaries). Of
course, for most realistic layered structures, this method can result in
a finite element analysis model with so many elements that it is not a
reasonable approach.

Another more efficient approach, assuming that the composite structure

is relatively thin, is to use layered shell elements. The efficiency
comes from the fact that only one shell element is required through the
thickness, because shell theory is built into the element formulation.
The disadvantages of this approach include:

(1) Shell theory assumes _z is zero, so this interlaminar stress

component will not be calculated.

(2) Shell theory also assumes that the out-of-plane shear strains are
zero, i.e. _xz and _yz are zero, which means the interlaminar shear
stresses cannot be calculated directly from the stress-strain relationship.

There is no getting around the first item, it is a consequence of shell

theory. But some finite element analysis codes get around the second
issue by using the equilibrium equations to distinguish the interlaminar
shear stresses from the in-plane stresses. For example, one can solve
for T_xz using the equilibrium equation below:
 composite-analysis3.jpg
<https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis3.jpg>

* Edit <https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis3.jpg>
* Delete <https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis3.jpg>

<https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis3.jpg>

By assuming that the interlaminar stresses are zero at the bottom of the
shell (free surface), this equation can be integrated through the
thickness to calculate the interlaminar shear stress on a layer by layer
basis through the entire thickness of the shell. This approach actually
does a pretty good job of calculating the interlaminar shear stresses
for layered shells.

Which is great, except what if the composite structure is not thin and
cannot be assumed to behave as dictated by shell theory? In that case,
there is another element formulation available: layered solids.

Layered solids, unfortunately, have their own problems. The two main
ones are:

1. Unlike layered shells that require only one element to describe the
through-thickness behavior, layered solids will often require
stacking to ensure good global deflection and stiffness
characterization. This complicates the interlaminar stress
calculation because the zero stress assumption at the top and bottom
may not be clear for a complex, curved geometry.

2. The finite element analysis code is internally calculating the

strain tensor in each element from the nodal displacements, and all
the strains, including the interlaminar strains, are assumed
continuous. Once the material properties are applied to obtain layer
stresses, the interlaminar stress distribution through the layers is
discontinuous, which is exactly opposite of what it should be.

Unfortunately, these issues lead to interlaminar stress predictions that

are generally poor. Consider a two-layer thin shell loaded in shear. The
shell consists of two equal-thickness isotropic layers, one stiffer than
the other. The plot below shows the prediction of _xz through the two
layers, with the value of _xz at the interface containing the
interlaminar shear value. A model using eight solid elements through the
thickness (four elements through each layer), and a model using layered
shell elements correlate reasonably well. The result from a layered
solid is much less accurate, and the interlaminar stress prediction is
particularly troubling since it is discontinuous at the interface.

composite-analysis4.jpg
<https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis4.jpg>
 * Edit <https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis4.jpg>
* Delete <https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis4.jpg>

<https://caeai.com/sites/default/files/composite-analysis4.jpg>

*Composites Analysis Recommendations*

If you want to calculate interlaminar stresses using finite element

analysis, your options are:

1. The best approach is to use multiple solid elements through each

layer. Unfortunately, this is rarely practical.

2. If the structure is thin and behaves like a shell, layered shell

elements typically provide a good prediction of interlaminar shear
stresses. Note that the interlaminar normal stress is assumed zero.

3. If the structure is not thin, and you cannot use multiple or even
one solid element through each layer, your best bet is to use
layered solids to predict the global response, and then submodeling
techniques using several solid elements through the layer thickness
to obtain accurate interlaminar stresses in the critical regions.
Alternatively, special postprocessing composites analysis tools can
be used to extract the correct stresses from the layered solids.

And perhaps most importantly, understand that at a free edge, the

interlaminar stresses are singular, and thus a comparative approach
should be considered.

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