The Application of VCCT for ABAQUS® to Prediction and Simulation of Delamination Growth in Composite Structures

This paper presents the application of VCCT for ABAQUS software for prediction and simulation of delamination growth in composite structures. Pure Mode-I (2D and 3D) and mixed-mode cases are analyzed as part of validation study and the strain energy release rates for each case are calculated. The strain energy release rate versus the crack length is computed and compared with analytical solutions. A 3D Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) model is investigated to simulate the unidirectional Mode-I growth and a laminated composite panel with an initial delamination of arbitrary shape is analyzed to demonstrate the ability of simulating the mixed-mode multi-directional delamination growth. These results are compared with a previously published numerical solution.