Progressive failure analysis of glass/epoxy composites at low temperatures

Because of applications of composites in space and in low temperature equipment, low temperature mechanical properties of glass fiber-reinforced epoxy have to be assessed. Experimental or analytical investigation on the tensile failure behavior of glass/epoxy laminated composite with/or without stress concentration subjected to thermo-mechanical static loadings at low temperatures has not been done yet. In the present work, a model was developed to perform the progressive failure analysis of quasi isotropic composite plates at low temperatures. The initial failure load is calculated by means of an elastic stress analysis. The load is increased step by step. For each given load, the stresses are evaluated and the appropriate failure criterion is applied to inspect for possible failure. For the failed element, material properties are modified according to the failure mode using a non-zero stiffness degradation factor. Then, the modified Newton–Raphson iteration is carried out until convergence is reached. This analysis is repeated for each load increment until the final failure occurs and the ultimate strength is determined. The present method yields results in a reasonable agreement with the experimental data at room temperature and −60°C. The effect of low temperature on the failure mechanism of the plates was also determined.