PREDICTION OF PROCESS-INDUCED DEFORMATION IN THICK COMPOSITE LAMINATES USING A PATH-DEPENDENT CONSTITUTIVE MODEL

In this study, the distortions of AS4/8552 composite laminates with plates more than 2 cm thick is predicted using a path-dependent constitutive law. Path-dependent constitutive equations were employed in a simplified viscoelastic model to reflect the deformation of composite profiles. The model predicted the complex residual stress development in the composite plates based on the development of the fiber and resin properties during the reaction process. The effects of thickness, thermal expansion, chemical shrink-age, and stress relaxation of the thick plates are taken into account by the model. The results obtained using the proposed model in ABAQUS with a subroutine are compared with other results which validated these two examples. In addition, a consolidated simulation of an AS4/8552 graphite/epoxy laminate is carried out and compared with experimental results available in the literature. Finally, the reliability and accuracy of the predicted results is verified with experiments using the thickness of the gradient (>= 2 cm), and good agreement is achieved between the predicted results and the available experimental data.