High-order B-splines based finite elements for delamination analysis of laminated composites

Finite element analysis of the delamination process in delaminated composites is addressed using high order Bézier elements relied on the Bernstein polynomials which are commonly used in Computer Aided Design. Laminae of a composite laminate are modeled with two dimensional Bézier elements. Zero-thickness cohesive elements, which are inserted along the interface in between the laminae to model the interface cracking, employ the high order univariate Bernstein basis functions. Quadratic, cubic and quartic Bernstein basis functions are examined. An open source pre-processing code is presented to generate Bézier meshes and interface elements. Implementation of a simple yet highly efficient arc-length solver which is able to trace equilibrium paths having multiple snap-backs is given. Numerical examples are presented for the analyses of benchmark composite delamination problems which include the double cantilever beam, the end notch flexure and the mixed mode bending tests. Additionally multiple delamination analysis of a composite specimen is also presented. Additionally multiple delamination analysis of a composite specimen is also investigated. For all given examples, the highly efficient performance of the proposed formulation is found.