Project: Advanced Numerical Simulations of Inter- and Intralaminar Failures in Composites

The strategic objective of SimuComp is to help design and stress engineers assess the structural integrity and the damage tolerance of lightweight composite structures through provision of new accurate and predictive multi-scale failure models combined with original and computationally efficient novel numerical methods.The submission of SimuComp is thus motivated by both industry needs (manufacturers: life prediction models; software vendors: efficient and predictive numerical solutions for damage and failure) and scientific advances beyond the current state-of-the-art as tackled by the project. The structures thus targeted will be based on multi-layered unidirectional (UD) composites as a demonstration of the accuracy of the new methods. To this end, SimuComp essentially introduces four innovations: - Modeling of the diffuse character of intralaminar damage (matrix cracking, fiber breakage, fiber-matrix debonding) using Discontinuous Galerkin/Extrinsic Cohesive Elements Method (DG/ECE) in 3D Representative Volume Elements (RVE); - Development, calibration and validation of a new Mean Field Homogenization (MFH) scheme including damage against experiments on coupons and results obtained by DG/ECE on RVE; - Modeling the transition from diffuse damage predicted by MFH at micro level to macroscopic strong discontinuities using eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM);- Assessing rigorously the aforementioned combined models by state-of-the-art microstructural characterization tests (such as X-Ray tomography).Such efforts will provide the industries with an easy-to-use set of numerical tools, able to predict multiple mode failure, at a level not yet achieved by current commercial FE software. Such drastic innovation will ultimately participate in designing lighter and stronger composites for the transportation and construction industry (especially for the aeronautical industry).

Acronym	SIMUCOMP (Reference Number: ESM-1903)
Project Topic	Engineering structural materials
Network	MATERA+
Call	Matera+ Call

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	IMDEA Materials	Coordinator	Spain
2	ULG-CMMM	Partner	Belgium
3	Centre de Recherche en Aéronautique ASBL (CENAERO)	Partner	Belgium
4	Centre de Recherche Public Henri Tudor	Partner	Luxembourg
5	e-Xstream engineering SA	Partner	Belgium