Failure of Non-Circular Composite Cylinders

<p>In this study a progressive failure analysis is used to investigate leakage in internally pressurized non-circular composite cylinders. This type of approach accounts for the localized loss of stiffness when material failure occurs at some location in a structure by degrading the local material elastic properties by a certain factor. The manner in which this degradation of material properties takes place depends on the failure modes which are determined by the application of a failure criterion. The finite-element code STAGS which has the capability to perform progressive failure analysis using different degradation schemes and failure criteria is utilized to analyze laboratory scale graphite-epoxy elliptical cylinders with quasi-isotropic circumferentially-stiff and axially-stiff material orthotropies. The results are divided into two parts. The first part shows that leakage which is assumed to develop if there is material failure in every layer at some axial and circumferential location within the cylinder does not occur without failure of fibers. Moreover before fibers begin to fail only matrix tensile failures or matrix cracking takes place and at least one layer in all three cylinders studied remain uncracked preventing the formation of a leakage path. That determination is corroborated by the use of different degradation schemes and various failure criteria. Among the degradation schemes investigated are the degradation of different engineering properties the use of various degradation factors the recursive or non-recursive degradation of the engineering properties and the degradation of material properties using different computational approaches. The failure criteria used in the analysis include the noninteractive maximum stress criterion and the interactive Hashin and Tsai-Wu criteria. The second part of the results shows that leakage occurs due to a combination of matrix tensile and compressive fiber tensile and compressive and inplane</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>