INVESTIGATION OF AXIAL CRUSHING BEHAVIOUR OF A COMPOSITE FUSELAGE MODEL USING THE COHESIVE ELEMENTS

Finite element analysis (FEA) on a new fabrication miniature composite fuselage structure under axial compression loading is presented. ABAQUS/Explicit simulation is employed to predict the crushing behaviour and mechanical strength from the initial compression loading to the final failure mode. A woven C-glass fiber/epoxy 200 g/m(2) composite laminated with orthotropic elastic material properties is used for the fuselage model. This proposed model is established to observe the crushing load and collapse modes under an axial compression impact. Adhesively bonded joint progression is generated using the technique of cohesive element. Various angles of the lamina are deliberated in the analysis to acquire and imagine the effect of the angle of orientation. Composite lamina angles are examined and validated using FEA modelling as a numerical parametric study. The results show that the finite element analysis using ABAQUS/Explicit can reproduce satisfactorily the load-deflection response. It can be concluded that special cases of antisymmetric lamination are found to have the strongest resistance to the applied load.