Instability of delaminated composite cylindrical shells under combined axial compression and bending

Composite cylindrical shells and panels are widely used in aerospace structures. These are often subjected to defects and damage from both in-service and manufacturing events. Delamination is the most important of these defects. This paper deals with the instability analysis of delaminated composite cylindrical shells subject to pure bending and also combined bending and axial compression, using the finite element method. The combined double-layer and single-layer of shell elements are employed, which in comparison with the three-dimensional finite elements requires less computing time and space for the same level of accuracy. The effect of contact in the buckling mode has been considered, by employing contact elements between the delaminated layers. The interactive buckling curves and postbuckling response of delaminated cylindrical shells have been obtained. In the analysis of post-buckled delaminations, a study using the virtual crack closure technique has been performed to find the distribution of the strain energy release rate along the delamination front. The results show that under pure bending, laminated cylindrical shells are more sensitive to the presence of delamination, than they are under pure axial compression. It was also observed that the effects of delamination are more apparent when the composite cylindrical shells are subjected to combined axial compression and bending. In this case, with a slight increase of the applied bending moment, the strain energy release rate distribution on the compressive side of the cylinder changes drastically. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.