Parametric study of crushing parameters and failure patterns of pultruded composite tubes using cohesive elements and seam, Part I: Central delamination and triggering modelling

Typically, most brittle composite tubes exhibit circumferential delamination, lamina bending, axial cracking and brittle fracture when subjected to static and dynamic loading conditions. In this work, a new innovative approach was adopted to model the above said failure modes using cohesive elements in an axial impact loading case. Circular and square cross sectional pultruded profiles made of glass-polyester were considered for the study. A numerical parametric study has been conducted to study the effect of the delamination on the failure patterns and the corresponding energy absorption using single layer and two layer shell elements. To predict the peak crushing load and the energy absorption, the importance of adequate numerical modelling of triggering is discussed. All numerical simulations were carried out using the commercially available finite element code ABAQUS V6.7-3 Explicit. Finally, the results of this comprehensive numerical investigation are compared with previously published experimental results [1]. Part II of this paper deals with the influence of multiple delaminations and modelling of axial cracks on the deformation patterns and the effect of initial geometric imperfections on the energy absorption.