Crush simulation of carbon/epoxy NCF composites -Development of a validation test for material models

Abstract: The high specific stiffness and strength of composites makes it advantageous for load carrying structures in the automotive industry. By successfully be able to numerically simulate the crush behaviour of composites, structure with high specific energy absorption can be implemented in the automotive industry. The purpose of this thesis is to verify the predictive capabilities of a crush model developed at SICOMP. Initially currently available material models are investigated. Puck’s criterion is deeper studied. An improvement of the criterion is suggested and the model is updated to be able to output fracture angles in Abaqus.The material model developed by SICOMP is a three-dimensional physically based damage model where failure initiation is estimated with proven failure criteria and damage growth is combined with friction to account for the right energy absorption. The crush damage model has been implemented in Abaqus/Explicit as a VUMAT subroutine. Numerical predictions are compared with experimental results. Specimens with different fibre layups and crash triggers are tested.