Progressive Damage Mechanisms in Thick 3D Composite Structures under Static and Fatigue Loading

The objective of this work is to demonstrate validation of predictive capabilities
capturing both damage initiation and growth under static and fatigue loading in
geometrically complex three-dimensional (3D) composite structures. The composite
structure of interest in the present study resembles a 3D blade spar used in rotorcraft
applications. Under both static and fatigue testing, it was shown that damage initiated
at the same ply-drop location(s) and grew in the axial as well as hoop directions.
CompDam – a state-of-the-art Progressive Damage Analysis (PDA) tool was used to
achieve successful correlations of metrics including load-displacement responses and
damage modes.