Simulating a tensile test of a carbon fiber composite test specimen in ABAQUS

Sammanfattning: This work aims at providing a numerical tool for the efficient design of the multidirectional carbon fiber reinforced composite material by means of finite element simulations. Abaqus/ CAE v 6.9-1 software has been used to establish a 3D model for simulation of the tensile test on the composite specimen. The aim of this analysis of multidirectional carbon fiber reinforced composite is to predict the strain and stress distribution in different plies through thickness. Tensile test experiment was carried out and the result was analyzed by ARAMIS to calculate the young’s modulus, stress, loads and strain of the composite specimen. The numerical model was compared against the result obtained from tensile test experiment to arrive at meaningful results for validation. This is done in order to understand the mechanical strength and strain at failure of the composite material. In this work three types of CFRP composite specimens are used, all have same 15 no. of ply but stacked in different orientation. It is found out that mechanical strength, failure load and strain differ slightly depending on this different ply orientation. A series of different modeling technique has also been done to verify the best modeling technique. The micromechanics of composite material is complex and the experimental predictions are time consuming and expensive. Though using FEM frequently solves the problem.