Engineming Fracrure Mtchonicr Printed in Great Britain.

Vol. 14, No. 4. pp. 691-712, 1981

001?-7944/8l/l?4o697-16sG2.~/0 0 1981 Pergamon Press Ltd.

ON A FINITE ELEMENT MODEL FOR THE ANALYSIS OF THROUGH CRACKS IN LAMINATED ANISOTROPIC CYLINDRICAL SHELLS
H. V. LAKSHMINARAYANA and M. V. V. MURTHY Structures Division, National Aeronautical Laboratory, Bangalore, India and L. S. SRINATH Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India Abstract-A finite element model for the analysis of laminated composite cylindrical shells with through cracks is presented. The analysis takes into account anisotropic elastic behaviour, bending-exten;ional coupling and transverse shear deformation effects. The proposed finite element model is based on the approach of dividing a cracked configuration into triangular shaped singular elements around the crack tip with adjoining quadrilateral shaped regular elements. The parabolic isoparametric cylindrical shell elements (both singular and regular) used in this model employ independent displacement and rotation interpolation in the shell middle surface. The numerical comparisons show the evidence to the conclusion that the proposed model will yield accurate stress intensity factors from a relatively coarse mesh. Through the analysis of a pressurised libre composite cylindrical shell with an axial crack, the effect of material orthotropy on the crack tip stress intensity factors is shown to be quite significant.

1.INTRODUCTION
FIBROUS COMPOSITE materials consisting of stiff and strong fibres embedded in a compatible matrix have emerged as the materials of the future. For the purpose of analysis, the unidirectional lamina of a given fibrelmatrix system can be modelled as a homogeneous anisotropic elastic continuum and a multilayered, multidirectionaliy oriented laminate can be treated using lamination theories. In view of the increasing use of laminated composite cylindrical shells in structural applications a study on the effects of sharp notches on their strength is a real problem and in need of treatment. Therefore, in this paper we consider the analysis of laminated composite cylindrical shells with through cracks. The equations of anisotropic elasticity theory[l] when applied to the analysis of laminated composite shells with through-the-thickness cracks involve overwhelming difficulties unless simplifying assumptions are invoked. On the other hand, analysis of through cracks in laminated composite shells based on classical shallow thin shell theories [2] may not be justified due to the following reasons: (a) In fibrous composite materials, the unidirectional lamina shear moduli are independent of the Youngs moduli and can vary over a wide range; (b) in a multilayered shell with vastly different anisotropic elastic properties in the adjacent layers, the validity of the Kirchoff-Love hypothesis is questionable; (c) For a crack whose surface is traction free, the in-plane normal and shear forces, the normal bending moment, the twisting moment, and the transverse shear force must vanish individually. If the crack is located along the x-axis, then the conditions

Ny(x,0) = NJ4 0) = My(x,0) = MXJX, = Q&, 0) = 0 0)

(1)

must prevail on the segment of the x-axis where the crack is located. In order to overcome the above-mentioned short comings, a refined theory which takes into account anisotropic elastic behaviour, bending-extensional coupling and transverse shear deformation effects can be used in the analysis. A number of such theories have been proposed in the literature. Yang et af.[3] have extended Mindlins theory for homogeneous isotropic plates[4] to laminated anisotropic plates. Pryor[S] has presented a shear deformation theory which is an extension of Reissners theory for isotropic plates [6] to composite plates. Whitney and Sun]71 have developed a refined theory for laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells which includes both transverse shear deformation and transverse normal strain as well as expansional strains. A refined approximate theory for static and dynamic analysis of thick anisotropic laminates has been proposed by Srinivas [8]. Recently, Lo et al. [9] have presented a high order theory of
691

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H. V. LAKSHMINARAYANA etal.

laminated plates. In the present work, the analysis of through cracks in laminated composite cylindrical shells has been carried out using a refined shallow shell theory which is analogous to Mindlinstheoryforflatplates.Aresumeofrelevantformulaefromthistheorywhicharepertinentto the present analysis are cited in the next section. A study of the general character of the elastic stress distribution near a crack tip in a laminated anisotropic shell based on the refined shallow shell theory leads to the definition of five stress intensity factors: two of them due to membrane stress resultants, two others due to bending stress resultants and the fifth one due to transverse shear stress resultants. Due to mathematical complexities, determination of these stress intensity factors for through cracks in laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells does not appear to be feasible using continuum mechanics methods. It is to be noted that the integral equation approach which has been applied to the analysis of crack problems in homogeneous orthotropic cylindrical[lO-131 and spherical [ 141 shells is restricted to specially orthotropic materials (a specially orthotropic material is one whose shear modulus is a certain function of the Youngs moduli and Poissons ratios). The finite element method appears to be the only alternative. The analysis of fracture mechanics problems has been one of the most active branches of finite element methods in structural mechanics in the 1970s. The vitality of this activity is attested to by not only the wealth of literature already recorded in a number of reviews[l5,16] but also by the scope of the 1978 International Conference on Numerical methods in Fracture Mechanics[l7]. The existing finite element models for the analysis of through cracks in shells are restricted to homogeneous isotropic shells. So we notice a need for a finite element model which eliminates this restriction and permits accurate determination of crack tip stress intensity factors in laminated composite cylindrical shells. Such a model is developed here based on the approach of dividing a cracked configuration into triangular shaped singular elements around the crack tip with adjoining quadrilateral shaped regular elements. The parabolic isoparametric cylindrical shell elements (both singular and regular) used in this model employ independent displacement and rotation interpolation in the shell middle surface. The accuracy and usefulness of the proposed method of analysis is established by solving a number of crack problems in plates and cylindrical shells for which alternate solutions are available for comparison. Finally, a pressurised fibre composite cylindrical shell with an axial crack is analysed. Numerical results are presented to assess the effect of material orthotropy on the crack tip stress intensity factors.

2. RESUME OF RELEVANT FORMULAE FROM SHELL THEORY In order to obtain a system of shell equations which are amenable to effective solution of crack problems in laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells by the finite element displacement method, a refined shallow shell theory analogous to Mindlins theory for homogeneous isotropic plates was used in the following analysis. Only those equations of this theory which are pertinent to the present discussion are cited below: Let us consider a laminated composite cylindrical shell of radius R and thickness h whose middle surface is referred to a set of curvilinear coordinates (x, y, z) (Fig. 1). The rectangular components of the displacement vector at any point (x, y, z) in the shell is assumed in the form

Ub, Y, z) = 4% Y) + z&(x, Y),

w,

Y,

z) = 0, Y) + z&(x,YL (2)

WC?Y, z) = 4x, Y).

The displacement components u, u and w are measured in the direction of the x-coordinate, the y-coordinate, and the normal to the middle surface respectively. The .quantity 0, is the angle through which a material normal rotates in the direction of the x-coordinate line. A corresponding interpretation holds for 0, The middle surface strains (eX, rX,), curvature changes (k,, k,, kxy), and transverse shear ey, strains (yyz,-rX,)are related to the displacement and rotation components by the following

Through cracks in laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells h

699

XV w z /
Z

I
Composite lomlnate

I. Fibre direction 2. Transverse direction 3. Thickness direction

Fig. 1. A laminated composite cylindrical shell co-ordinate system.

equations:

(3)

{k) =

{yl=

[a]= R ;; -----

-1
k
ax k,

_x ae

I
(4)

= _!!Y

ay
v

kXY

-($$+$)
e

I I
y.
ax 6,

aw

(5)

For a multilayered, multidirectionally oriented, fibrous composite laminate (Fig. l), the stress resultants (iv,, NY,Nxy), the stress couples (M,, My, M,,) and transverse shear forces (QYz, Q,..) are related to the middle surface strains {E},the curvature changes {k}, and transverse
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H.V.LAKSHMINARAYANA al. et

shear strains {y} by the following constitutive relations:

(6)

(7) or

WI = [Al{4 + [W{kl M = [m4 + [mw

IQ1= ElId

(8)
(9)

(10)

A,, Bij, Oij (i, j = 1,2,6) and A, (i, j = 4,5) are the extensional, bending-extensional coupling, bending and shear stiffness coefficients of the composite laminate. These can be readily calculated once the unidirectional lamina elastic constants and lamination parameters are known[l8]. S, and S2 are the shear correction factors. The potential energy in the shell denoted by rs is given by 1 7rs=2 II
-

]WT{~] + {WTW1 + {QY{rIl dx dy

P,w dx dy

(11)

where P, is the intensity of the normal pressure acting on the shell. Combining eqns (3)-(7) and (II), it is possible to express the potential energy functional in terms of the five kinematic variables of the present theory, namely u, v, w, 0, and 19,.The primary contribution of the resulting theory lies in its ability to satisfy five natural boundary conditions along a free edge of the shell. On a typical edge, say y = 0, it is possible to specify one member of each of the following pairs:

3. ELASTIC STRESS DISTRIBUTION NEAR A CRACK TIP IN A LAMINATED ANISOTROPIC CYLINDRICAL SHELL The elastic stress distribution near a crack tip in a homogeneous isotropic cylindrical shell is well known[l9,20]. Irrespective of the size and orientation of the crack, the distribution patterns of the membrane and bending stresses in the vicinity of the crack tip for the shell are identical with those found in plates both with regard to the inverse square root singularly in r and the angular variation in the 8 coordinate where r is the radial distance measured from the crack tip and the crack surfaces are along 0 = + 7~.The analyses in [19,20] are based on the classical shallow thin shell theory, where the crack surface boundary conditions are satisfied only approximately in the Kirchoff sense. As a result the angular variation of the bending stresses is independent on the Poissons ratio u whereas this is not true of membrane stresses. Attempts have therefore been made to solve crack problems in cylindrical[l2,13] and spherical[l4,21] shells taking into account transverse shear deformation effects. These studies suggest that the order of singularity of membrane and bending stresses near the crack tip agrees with predictions by classical shallow shell theory but the angular variation of bending stresses is independent of v and is exactly identical with the one for membrane stresses. One could

Through cracks in laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells

701

therefore expect that a similar investigation of the elastic stress distribution near a crack tip in a laminated anisotropic cylindrical shell by the refined theory outlined in the previous section might lead to the same conclusion. Let us consider a cylindrical shell with an axial crack (Fig. 2~). The shell wall is a symmetric cross-ply laminate with the axes of elastic symmetry coinciding with the shell axes. Using the refined shell theory equations given in the previous section, a local investigation of the singularities enables us to give a full characterisation of the elastic stress field near the crack tip. The distribution patterns of the membrane stress resultants, bending stress resultants, and transverse shear stress resultants in the vicinity of the crack tip for the shell are identical with those found in plates [22] both with regard to the inverse square root singularity in r and angular variation with respect to the 0 coordinate. Furthermore the angular variation of the bending stress resultants is the same as those for the membrane stress resultants. Distribution of stress resultants in the vicinity of the crack tip is obtained as
N, =&Re

[fi [A [fi [fi

(Z-F)] (z-z)] (i-i)] (z-?)I+$$

+&Re +&)Re +&Re

[A [&(&$I [A Re [A

($-$)I

+W) +o(rO)

(12) (13) (14)

NY=&Re NXY =&Re

(~-~)]+W) ($-$)I +W)

M, =-$&Re

(13

(a)

cl
$20 h

Fig. 2. Configuration and loading conditions considered for analysis.

702

H.V.LAKSHMINARAYANA et

al.

My =-&Re Mxy =&Re

[&(z-#&Re[&(~-$)]+tX) [fi (&#&Re [A (~-#Wl

(16) (17)

Qyz=$& Re [ d , t O(r) Qxz=$& Re B t O(r)

1 cd3 1

(18)

(19)

where I_L~(yjt iflj (j = 1,2) and c(, = Lyj i& (j = 1,2) are the roots of the characteristic = equation alIF - 2a16p3+ (2a12+ U&L* - 2~26~+ az2= 0; (20)

aij (i, j = 1,2,6) are the elastic compliance coefficients of the composite laminate; p3 = a3 t i/l3 and ,& = a3 - ip3 are the roots of another characteristic equation A&/L + 2&/.~ + Ass = 0; Re denotes real part of the complex quantity within the brackets; and dj = (cos 0 t /.Lj 0) (j = I, 2,3). sin (22)

(21)

Consequently, in the general case, the elastic stress field near the crack tip is characterised by the five stress intensity factors KS, KS, and K Z*. K,, K$ They are defined in such a way that

Nl,=.=$)tO(rO), N,le=o=&)+o(p),
M,I,=o=&W),

W&o = &
Q&=o =

+Wok
(23

$$ +W).

Due to the mathematical complexities, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain analytical expressions for these stress intensity factors for through cracks in laminated composite shells. The functional dependence of these stress intensity factors upon shell geometry, crack length, applied loads and stiffness coefficients of a typical laminated composite cylindrical shell can be established only through numerical methods. The finite element method is the obvious choice because of its ability to handle in an unified manner any complex geometry, general loading, and in particular the laminated anisotropic elastic properties of multilayered composite materials. 4. FINITE ELEMENTS FOR DETERMINATION OF CRACK TIP STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS IN A LAMINATED COMPOSITE CYLINDRICAL SHELL Let us consider the application of the widely used finite element displacement method to the numerical determination of crack tip stress intensity factors in a multilayered fibrous composite cylindrical shell. For purposes of elastic stress analysis, a through crack is modelled as a surface of displacement discontinuity across which no forces are transmitted. Using this sharp

Through cracks in laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells

703

crack model, in conjunction with a laminated anisotropic elastic continuum model for the material, a finite element model for the cracked shell is to be constructed. From the very outset, the most appealing approach is that which takes explicit account of the fact that the membrane stress resultants, bending stress resultants, and transverse shear stress resultants near a crack tip will vary as the inverse square root of r. Such an approach necessitates the formulation of elements with embedded singularity called singular elements. These elements are used to model a small but finite region around the crack tip while the rest of the domain under consideration has to be modelled using curved shell elements called regular elements. Among the variety of singular element formulations reviewed in [16], those based on isoparametric concepts are preferred in view of the many advantages. The formulation of a parabolic isoparametric cylindrical shell finite element quadrilateral in shape (regular element) and a triangular quarter-point cylindrical shell finite element (singular element) is given below: 4.1 A parabolic isoparametric cylindrical shell finite element quadrilateral in shape-regular element A typical curvilinear quadrilateral element on the shell middle surface (shown in Fig. 3) has nodes at each corner and a mid side node along each edge. The nodes are numbered l-8 in the counter-clockwise order when viewed from the positive side. The shell coordinates of the nodes l-8 are xi, vi (i = 1,s). A coordinate transformation is employed to map the curvilinear quadrilateral element into a square (Fig. 3). The inverse mapping function can be expressed in the form (24) where the functions Ni(t, 7) associated with the mapping are polynomial functions[23]. The same functions iVi(t, 7) are used to approximate the displacement field within the element, i.e. the displacement and rotation components at any point within the element are

Fig. 3. A parabolic isoparametric cylindrical shell finite element quadrilateral in shape.

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H.V.LAKSHMINAFUYANA et

al

expressed in terms of their nodal values as

(25)

It is now appropriate to call the functions Ni(ty 7) as displacement shape functions. The middle surface strains, curvature changes and transverse shear strains can be expressed in terms of the nodal displacements with the help of eqns (3~(5) and (25) as

ax

ki

(27)
!

where the relation

JH !I
ar\r,=[Jl
ay
;;.
2

ahr, ax

ahr,

(29)

ay

is to be inverted to obtain the needed Cartesian derivatives of the shape functions. Equations (26)-(28) can be expressed in matrix notation as I4 = [WM {k) = Wl{d {Y)= wm?~ where (30) (31)

(32)

w =(419 q3 * * @I
is the vector of nodal displacements; and

48)

{qi}T = (4, Vi7Wi9oxi,eyi) Ci = l, 8)*

Through cracks in laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells

705

The stress resultants can also be expressed in terms of the nodal displacement vector {s} using eqns (8)-(10) and (30)-(32) as

Finally, the strain energy in the element denoted by U,, can be expressed as (36) where [K] is the element stiffness matrix given by
[K] =

1I+ ([EE]T[A][EE] t [EE]T[E][EE]

-I -I +

[EE]T[E][EE][EE]T[D][EE] t (37)

t [BSITIE][BSI) det J d,$dq

and det J is the determinant of the Jacobian for the transformation in eqn (29). It is convenient to evaluate eqn (37) using numerical integration. This integration is carried out using either 3 x 3 or 2 x 2 mesh of Gauss points. While the stress resultants can be evaluated at any point within the element, the choice of the G points gives optimal accuracy. For this purpose the element stress matrices [A][BE] t [B][BB], [B][BE] + [D][BB] and [E][BS] have to be computed at the G points. These are later multiplied by the nodal displacement vector {q} to yield the stress resultants. 4.2 A triangular quarter point cylindrical shell finite element-singular element A typical triangular element located on the developed middle surface of a cylindrical shell is shown in Fig. 4 along with the Cartesian coordinates of the nodes. The stiffness and stress matrices for this triangular element are obtained by simple distortions of the quadrilateral element formulated in the previous section. Specifically the distortions are introduced by (a) the coalescence of the three nodes along one edge (nodes 1,2 and 3 along the edge q= - 1 in Fig. 4) to coincide at a single point which in turn is located at the crack tip; and (b) positioning of the mid side nodes of those sides which meet at the crack tip (nodes 4 and 8 in Fig. 4) at the quarter points. A detailed analysis of the strain field within this triangular quarter-point element reveals [24,25] that the middle surface strains {c}, the curvature changes {k} and the transverse shear strains {y} vary as r-I*, where r is the radial distance measured from the crack tip, if the nodes 1, 2 and 3 are constrained to undergo the same nodal displacements. In addition all three sides of the element must be straight in order to get accurate results. An important practical consideration in the use of this triangular quarter-point cylindrical shell element as a singular element is that the crack tip stress intensity factors are not directly obtained during the solution process and therefore must be evaluated posteriori. A simple yet accurate method to evaluate the stress intensity factors is based on an extrapolation technique. In this approach, the stress intensity factors are first evaluated at the G points using the finite element solutions (stress resultants) and then extrapolated to the crack tip[26]. The parameters which affect the accuracy of the stress intensity factor solutions obtained by the present method are (a) the length L of the singular element, (b) the number of singular elements used around the crack tip, and (c) the number and distribution of the regular elements. In particular, L must be chosen sufficiently small in comparison with a, the half crack length, so that the one term asymptotic expansion is an accurate description of the solution within the singular element. For the calculations presented in this paper, this requirement was met by choosing L as a/20. Although the singular elements do not model the exact 0 variation of stress resultants around the crack tip, it could be approximated through their polynomial interpolating

706

H. V. LAKSHMINARAYANA et al.

Node

No i

Fig. 4. A triangular quarterpoint cylindrical shell finite element.

functions. All the calculations presented in this paper are based on using eight singular elements to model the region 0 s 6 s 180. Evidently, this singular element satisfies the interelement compatibility requirements with the surrounding regular element. In the singular as well as regular form, the parabolic isoparametric cylindrical shell element has an accurate representation of rigid body modes and constant strain states. 4.3 Numerical comparisons Numerical results are presented here to examine the accuracy and usefulness of the proposed finite element model when applied to solve crack problems in flat plates and cylindrical shells. The configurations and loading conditions considered in the analysis are shown in Fig. 2. Let us consider the analysis of a rectangular panel with a central crack subjected to uniform tension as shown in Fig. 2(a). The geometry and loading conditions are doubly symmetric and therefore only one quarter of the panel was modelled using the finite element mesh illustrated in Fig. 5. For this case, the calculated stress intensity factor K,, is normalised with respect to &vu, where No is the uniform membrane force applied on y = 2 H. For a homogeneous isotropic material, the results presented in Table 2 for two different a/b ratios are found to be in very good agreement with those obtained by Isida [27] using boundary collocation of a complex stress function. The case of unidirectional Boron/epoxy composite laminate with fibers oriented normal to the plane of the crack was also analysed. The normaiised stress intensity factor, K,/N,,du, presented in Table 2 for two different crack lengths is found to be in close agreement with those obtained by Lin and Tong[28] using a hybrid crack element.

Through cracks in laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells

707

Regular

element

/-

x F

Singular

element /

Fig. 5. Finite element mesh.

Table I. Elastic constants of composite material systems used in the analysis Material system El1 $3 G3 E22 G2 G23 Psi(GPa) Psi(GPa) Psi(GPa) Psi(GPa) Psi(GPa) Psi(GPa)

I2

u23

VI3

Glass/epoxy composite 7.55;; Boron/epoxy 30.0x 106 composite (206.7) Graphite/epoxy 30.0x lo6 comoosite (206.7)

2.5 x lo6 1.5x lo6 1.5x 106 1.5x lo6 2.(5x;p6 (17.2) (10.3) (10.3) (10.3) 0.25 0.25 0.25 3.0X lo6 3.0x lo6 0.7 x 106 0.7 x lo6 0.7 x I6 (20.67) (20.67) (4.8) (4.8) (4.8) 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.75x 106 0.75 x lo6 0.45 x 106 0.37x lo6 0.37x 106 (5.16) (5.16) (3.1) (2.58) (2.58) 0.25 0.25 0.25

E is the Youngs modulus, G is the shear modulus, Y is the Poissons ratio. The subscripts I, 2 and 3 refer to the fiber direction, transverse direction, and thickness direction, respectively.

Table 2. Stress intensity factor for a rectangular panel with a central crack [H/6 = 1.5; Fig. 2(a)] Material Isotropic (V=0.3) Unidirectional Boron/epoxy composite laminate Fiber orientation
a/b

Normalised SIF, KsINo~a Present analysis Available solution 1.1403 1.2195 1.3825 1.5431 1.140[Ref. 271 1.20 [Ref. 271 1.38[Ref. 281 1.50[Ref. 281

Normal to the plane of the crack

0.4 0.5 0.4 0.5

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H. V. LAKSHMINARAYANA et al.

The second example, shown in Fig. 2((b) is a square plate with a central through-thethickness crack subjected to normal bending. Taking advantage of double symmetry only one quarter of the plate was modelled using the finite element mesh shown in Fig. 5. For this case, the calculated stress intensity factor K:, is normalised with respect to &d/a, where MOis the uniform bending stress resultant applied on y = 2 H For a homogeneous isotropic plate (V = 0.3), using reduced integration (2 x 2 mesh of G points within both singular and regular elements) and shear correction factors S,* = S,= 5/6, the result presented in Table 3 is in excellent agreement with available continuum [29] and finite element [30] solutions. Also given in Table 3 is the stress intensity factor solution for the case of unidirectional Boron/epoxy composite laminate with the fibre oriented normal to the plane of the crack. Comparative result required to estimate the accuracy of this solution is not available. The third example considered is a pressurised cylindrical shell with an axial through-thethickness crack, shown in Fig. 2(c). The shell wall material is homogeneous and isotropic with v = 0.3. Taking advantage of symmetry only one quarter of the shell was modelled using the finite element mesh shown in Fig. 5. For this case, the calculated membrane stress and bending stress (at outer surface of the shell) intensity factors defined as Kern) I&/h and IQ* = 6KZlh = respectively are normalised with respect to uod/a where (TV PR/h is the uniform hoop stress = in the shell away from the crack and P is the internal pressure. Numerical experiments were first carried out to assess the influence of reduced integration and changes in thickness ratio h/a on the accuracy of the stress intensity factors obtained in the present analysis. For a pressurised cylindrical shell with an axial crack with the curvature parameter A = u/v(Rh) = 2.0 and the thickness ratio (h/u) = 0.1, the computed membrane and bending stress intensity factors presented in Table 4 along with available solutions show that the best results are obtained by reduced integration using a 2 x 2 mesh of G points. All the results presented in this paper are therefore based on the use of reduced integration and S,= S? = 516. Typical results are presented in Table 5 to assess the effect of changes in h/u on the membrane and bending stress intensity factors for a pressurised cylindrical shell with an axial crack. Finite element solutions taken from [31] and classical shallow shell theory solutions[l9]
Table 3. Stress intensity factorfor a square plate with a central crack [H/b = 1, a/b = l/3, h/a = 0.5; Fig. 2(b)] Normalised SE, Kt/Moda Material Isotropic (v=O.3) Unidirectional Boron/epoxy composite laminate Fiber orientation Present analysis 0.7544 Normal to the plane of the crack 0.9218 Available solution 0.76 [Ref. 291 0.755 [Ref. 301 -

Table 4. Influence of reduced integration on the accuracy of stress intensity factors for a pressurised cylindrical shell with an axial crack [A = a/d(Rh) = 2.0; h/a = 0.1; Y= 0.3; Fig. 2c]
K(m) Kb

Source Present analysis exact integration (3 X3) Reduced (2 x 2) Classical shell theory solution [Ref. 191 Reissners theory solution [Ref. 121 Finite element solution [Ref. 311

Membrane SIF, fl0tia 2.103 2.603 2.50 2.56 2.55

Bending SW, u0ga 0.216 0.206 0.32 0.17 0.18

Through cracks in laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells Table 5. Influence of thickness ratio (h/a) on the accuracy of stress intensity factors for a pressurised cylindrical shell with an axial crack [V= 0.31 Membrane SIF K(R)~u~~a 2.828 2.000 1.265 2.000 2.828 1.265 2.828 2.000 Bending SfF K~~~~~~~a 0.224 0.206 0.141 :::8 0.08 0.35 0.32 0.15

709

Source Present analysis

hla 0.25 0.10 0.05 0.10 0.25 0.05 -

1.924
2.603 3.395 2.55 1.9 3.25 1.75 2.5 3.2

Finite element solution [Ref. 311 Classical shell theory solution [Ref. 191

1.265

are also included for comparison. It is seen that the bending stress intensity factor is considerably affected by taking into account transverse shear effects in the analysis. The membrane stress intensity factors agree fairly well with the classical shallow shell theory solutions and the finite element solutions. In order to study the influence of orthotropy on the crack tip stress intensity factors, a pressurised homogeneous orthotropic cylindrical shell with an axial crack with A = ad(Rh) = 1.265 and h/a = 0.25 was analysed. The elastic constants of titanium and graphite shells used in the analysis are given in Table 6. Computed values of the stress intensity factors are presented in Table 7. The significant influence of orthotropy (characterised by the modulus ratio EJE,.) on the crack tip stress intensity factors is clearly brought out by these results. A rigorous assessment of the accuracy of the stress intensity factors for orthotropic shells obtained in the present analysis is not possible because no alternate solution is available for comparison. However, a qualitative comparison can be made with the solutions reported in [II] which are included in Table 7. It is to be noted that the solution in [ll] has been obtained using classical shallow shell theory and is valid only for specially orthotropic shells.

Table 6. Elastic constants of specially orthotropic cylindrical shells used in the analysis

EX
Material Titanium Graphite Psi(GPa) 20.8x 106 (143.3) 40.0 x IO6 (275.6)

Psi(GPa) 15.07x 106 (103.8) 1.5x 106 (10.3)

G
Psi(%a) 6.76 x 106 (46.5) 4.0x IO6 (27.56) %srv 0.2714 0.2

E is the Youngs modulus, G is the shear modulus, Y is the Poissons ratio. The subscripts x and y refer to axial and hoop directions respectively.

Table 7. The effect of orthotropy on the stress intensity factors for a pressurised cylindrical shell with an axial crack [A = a/d(Rh) = 1.265,h/a = 0.251 Membrane SIF, K(~)lu~~a Material Titanium Graphite Titanium Graphite Modulus ratio WE, 0.0375 0.724 1.381 26.66 Present analysis 1.207 1.813 2.044 3.87 [Ref. 111 1.20 1.60 Bending .!W, K(b)/u~~a Present analysis 0.084 0.206 0.220 0.225 [Ref. Ii] z: 0:35 0.6

1.80
3.0

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H. V. LAKSHMINARAYANA et al.

ANALYSIS OF A PRESSURISED FIBRE COMPOSITE CYLINDRICAL SHELL WITH AN AXIAL CRACK In a homogeneous isotropic cylindrical shell, the crack tip stress intensity factors are known to depend on two parameters: the curvature parameter, /3 = a[12(1- ~~)]~/v/(Rh), and the thickness ratio, h/a. In the case of a laminated composite cylindrical shell with a through crack, the stress intensity factor is not only a function of the curvature parameter A = a/~(Rh) and thickness ratio h/a, but also depends upon the stiffness coefficients of the particular composite laminate and the orientation of the plane of the crack in the laminate. In order to assess the influence of these parameters on the stress intensity factors, numerical experiments were carried out on a pressurised cylindrical shell with an axial crack (Fig. 2c) with A = 1.265 and h/a = 0.25. The composite laminate was unidirectional with the fibers oriented either parallel or normal to the plane of the crack. Numerical results were obtained for widely used composite material systems like glass/epoxy, Boron/epoxy and Graphite/epoxy. Typical elastic constants for these material systems used in the analysis are given in Table 1. The geometry, loading and elastic properties are symmetric about the x and y axes and therefore only one quarter of the shell was modelled using the finite element mesh illustrated in Fig. 5. Eight singular elements and thirty two regular elements were used resulting in six hundred and nine active degrees of freedom. For this case, the calculated membrane stress and bending stress (at outer surface of the shell) intensity factors given by K WI) KS/h and Kcb= 6Kz/h2 are normalised with respect = to o,,d/a where (TV PR/h. = Computed values of membrane and bending stress intensity factors are presented in Table 8. The significant effect of the stiffness coefficients of the composite laminate, and the fibre orientation with respect to the plane of the crack, on the crack tip stress intensity factors is clearly brought out by these results. When the fiber direction is normal to the plane of the crack the effective stress intensity factor is higher than that for the isotropic case. On the other hand when the fibers are oriented parallel to the plane of the crack, the effective stress intensity factor is less than that for the isotropic case. In general, the effective stress intensity factor for an axial crack in a pressurised fibre composite cylindrical shell varies with the parameter (E,/E,)2 as shown in Fig. 6. 6. CONCLUDING REMARKS The objective of the present work was to develop a finite element model for the analysis of through cracks in laminated composite cylindrical shells. Further, it was intended that the analysis should take into account anisotropic elastic behaviour, bending-extensional coupling
Table 8. The effect of material orthotropy on the stress intensity factor for a pressurized libre composite cylindrical shell with an axial crack [A= a/d(Rh) = 1.265;h/a = 0.251 Orthotropic parameter E,IE, Membrane SIF Km)/uo~a Bending SIF K(*)/uoqa Effective SIF K@fl= K(m)+ K(b)

Material system Unidirectional graphite/epoxy composite laminate Unidirectional Boron/epoxy composite laminate Unidirectional glass/epoxy composite laminate Isotropic (v = 0.3) Unidirectional glass/epoxy composite laminate Unidirectional Boron/epoxy composite laminate Unidirectional graphite/epoxy composite laminate

Fiber orientation Parallel to the plane of the crack Parallel to the plane of the crack Parallel to the plane of the crack Normal to the plane of the crack Normal to the plane of the crack Normal to the plane of the crack

0.025 0.1 0.333 1.0 3.0 10.0 40.0

1.27576

0.10223

1.37799

148468

0.12973 0.17234 0.21231 0.23507 0.20523 0.14928

1.61441 1.77787 2.11663 2.65172 3.64106 4.73019

1.60553
1.90432 2.41665 3.43583 4.58091

Through cracks in laminated anisotropic cylindrical shells

5.0

711

00

IO

2 .o

3.0 (Ey/Ex)2

40

50

6.0

7.0

Fig. 6. Variation of effective stress intensity factor for axial crack in a pressurized cylindrical shell with the orthotropic parameter.

and transverse shear deformation effects. Such a model was developed here based on a refined shallow shell theory analogous to Mindlins theory for flat plates and the approach of dividing a cracked configuration into triangular shaped singular elements around the crack tip with adjoining quadrilateral shaped regular elements. The parabolic isoparametric cylindrical shell elements (both singular and regular) described in this paper in which independent displacement and rotation interpolation was directly used in the shell middle surface are noted to be similar to the degenerate solid thick shell elements used in [31]. However, the ease with which the membrane, bending-extensional, bending and shear stiffness coefficients of a composite laminate has been incorporated and the simplicity of programming the present formulation are noteworthy. The numerical comparisons show the evidence to the conclusion that the proposed model will yield accurate stress intensity factors from a relatively coarse mesh. Through the analysis of a pressurised fibre composite cylindrical shell with an axial crack, the variation of effective stress intensity factor with the orthotropic parameter was established. It is expected that the dependency of stress intensity factors on the laminate stiffness coefficients will also be significant for other lamination patterns like cross-ply, angle-ply etc. The proposed model can be applied to arbitrary lamination patterns. However, a rigorous interpretation of the finite element solutions necessitates an analytical study to determine the exact stress distribution in the vicinity of the crack tip. The proposed finite element model is very attractive to practitioners since a general purpose finite element structural analysis program in which the isoparametric family of elements are available can be used for fracture mechanics analysis also without major modifications.

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(Received 20 May 1980; received for publication 2 October 1980)