Prediction of progressive damage and strength of IM7/977-3 composites using the Eigendeformation-based homogenization approach: Static loading

Abstract

This paper presents the results from the authors’ participation in the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Damage Tolerance Design Principles Program. The Eigendeformation-based reduced order homogenization method was employed to predict the mechanical response of a suite of open hole and unnotched IM7/977-3 composite laminates under static tension and compression. Damage accumulation, effective stiffness, and ultimate strength blind predictions are included in addition to the results of the recalibration study. In blind predictions, the proposed multiscale model produced predictions with an average error of 13.1% compared to the experiments for static ultimate strength and 13.6% for stiffness. After recalibration, the average prediction error was improved to 8.7% for static ultimate strength and 4.4% for stiffness. Details of the blind predictions and the recalibration are discussed.