Shock loading of 3D woven composites: A validated finite element investigation

In a companion paper in this issue (Pankow et al., 2010 [1]), experimental results for the deformation response of 3D glass fiber textile composites subjected to shock wave pulse pressure loading were presented. In this paper, finite element models are developed to simulate the deformation response and damage development observed in the experiments. Two levels of models are presented, with the first focused on a layered, homogenous orthotropic model that examined the bulk macroscopic deformation response. In the second model, each layer is represented to capture the interactions between fiber tows and matrix, taking into account the discrete non-homogeneous material distribution in each layer. Both models incorporated a user defined subroutine within the commercial software ABAQUS to capture matrix micro-cracking, which is responsible for damage development and growth. Results from the computational models correlated well with experimental results and observed locations of matrix micro-cracking.