CompositePro Users Guide

Helius:CompositePro Users Guide
Helius:CompositePro
TM
Version 4.2

Copyright 2013, Firehole Technologies, Inc.

Helius:CompositePro v4.2 Users Guide 2
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 7
2 GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE ............................................................................................................ 8
2.1 TOOLBAR OPTIONS .................................................................................................................... 9
2.2 MATERIAL DATA FILE TREE ...................................................................................................... 10
3 FILE MODULE ........................................................................................................................................ 13
4 NEW ITEM MODULE ............................................................................................................................. 17
4.1 CREATING A NEW FIBER, MATRIX, CORE AND LAMINA .................................................................. 20
4.2 CALCULATING NEW LAMINA PROPERTIES FROM MICROMECHANICS ................................................ 23
4.3 CREATING A NEW THICKNESS/ANGLE TEMPLATE .......................................................................... 25
4.4 CREATING A NEW LAMINATE ..................................................................................................... 27
5 LAMINATE MODULE ............................................................................................................................ 31
5.1 LAMINATE TAB ....................................................................................................................... 33
5.2 LAMINATE PROPERTIES............................................................................................................. 34
5.3 STRESS-STRAIN AND STRENGTH ANALYSIS .................................................................................. 41
5.4 FIRST PLY FAILURE SURVEY ...................................................................................................... 51
5.5 FAILURE ENVELOPE ................................................................................................................. 53
6 PLATE MODULE..................................................................................................................................... 56
6.1 LAMINATE TAB ....................................................................................................................... 58
6.2 PLATE GEOMETRY TAB............................................................................................................. 59
6.3 PLATE BENDING ...................................................................................................................... 60
6.4 PLATE STABILITY .................................................................................................................... 62
6.5 PLATE VIBRATION ................................................................................................................... 64
7 SANDWICH MODULE ............................................................................................................................ 66
7.1 LAMINATE TAB ....................................................................................................................... 68
7.2 SANDWICH GEOMETRY TAB ...................................................................................................... 69
7.3 SANDWICH BEAM BENDING ....................................................................................................... 70
7.4 SANDWICH PANEL BENDING ...................................................................................................... 73
7.5 SANDWICH STABILITY .............................................................................................................. 74
8 TUBE/BEAM MODULE .......................................................................................................................... 77
8.1 LAMINATE TAB ....................................................................................................................... 79
8.2 TUBE GEOMETRY TAB .............................................................................................................. 80
8.3 TUBE/BEAM BENDING .............................................................................................................. 81
8.4 TUBE/BEAM TORSION ............................................................................................................... 83
8.5 TUBE/BEAM VIBRATION ........................................................................................................... 85
8.6 TUBE/BEAM CYLINDER STABILITY ............................................................................................. 87
8.7 TUBE/BEAM COLUMN STABILITY ............................................................................................... 90
8.8 TUBE/BEAM PRESSURE VESSEL.................................................................................................. 92
9 UTILITIES MODULE .............................................................................................................................. 94
9.1 UTILITIES VF WF CONVERTER ................................................................................................. 95
9.2 UTILITIES WINDING CALCULATOR .............................................................................................. 96
9.3 UTILITIES FABRIC THICKNESS CALCULATOR ................................................................................ 99
9.4 ROVING CONVERTER .............................................................................................................. 100
9.5 UTILITIES RADIUS OF CURVATURE CALCULATOR........................................................................ 102
9.6 UTILITIES LAMINATE SURVEY ................................................................................................. 104

9.7 FABRIC BUILDER ................................................................................................................... 106
9.8 OPTIMIZE LAMINA FOR MCT ................................................................................................... 115
9.9 EXPORT MATERIAL ................................................................................................................ 117
10 WINDOW AND HELP MODULES ....................................................................................................... 120
10.1 WINDOW MODULE ................................................................................................................. 120
10.2 HELP MODULE ...................................................................................................................... 120
APPENDIX A: HELIUS:COMPOSITEPRO LICENSING ........................................................................... 123
APPENDIX B: REFERENCES FOR MATERIALS INCLUDED WITH HELIUS:COMPOSITEPRO ..... 126
APPENDIX C: AVAILABLE FAILURE CRITERIA FOR COMPOSITE MATERIALS ........................... 133
FAILURE MODE .................................................................................................................................. 144
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................. 145

Table of Figures
FIGURE 2-1: HELIUS:COMPOSITEPRO GUI AT START-UP ............................................................................................... 8
FIGURE 2-2: MATERIAL DATA FILE TREE, HIGHLIGHTING THE MATRICES BRANCH ........................................................ 10
FIGURE 2-3: FILE TREE, NEW MATERIAL OPTION ....................................................................................................... 11
FIGURE 2-4: FILE TREE, EDIT/DELETE MATERIAL OPTION .......................................................................................... 12
FIGURE 2-5: FILE TREE, NEW FROM MICRO-MECHANICS AND LAMINATE ENGINEERING PROPS FEATURES ........................ 12
FIGURE 3-1: CREATING A NEW MATERIAL LIBRARY FOLDER ...................................................................................... 13
FIGURE 3-2: IMPORT FILE/DIRECTORY WINDOW ........................................................................................................ 14
FIGURE 3-3: PREFERENCES USER OPTIONS TAB ......................................................................................................... 14
FIGURE 3-4: PREFERENCES LICENSING TAB ............................................................................................................... 16
FIGURE 4-1: PRINCIPAL LAMINA COORDINATE SYSTEM ............................................................................................... 18
FIGURE 4-2: A) LAMINATE COORDINATE SYSTEM, B) CYLINDRICAL LAMINATE TUBE COORDINATE SYSTEM .................... 19
FIGURE 4-3: (A) NEW MATRIX WINDOW, (B) NEW LAMINA WINDOW ............................................................................ 20
FIGURE 4-4: THE CALCULATE LAMINA PROPERTIES WINDOW ...................................................................................... 23
FIGURE 4-5: RESULTS TAB OF THE CALCULATE LAMINA PROPERTIES WINDOW ............................................................... 24
FIGURE 4-6: THICKNESS/ANGLE TEMPLATE WINDOW ................................................................................................. 25
FIGURE 4-7: NEW LAMINATE WINDOW, SHOWN BEFORE THE USER HAS ADDED ANY PLIES ............................................... 27
FIGURE 4-8: THE NEW LAMINATE WINDOW, SHOWING PLIES THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE LAMINATE.......................... 28
FIGURE 4-9: PLY ORDER AND THE SPECIFIC LOCATION TOP, MIDDLE, AND BOTTOM WITHIN EACH PLY OF A LAMINATE
RELATIVE TO THE ASSUMED GLOBAL Z DIRECTION OF THE LAMINATE ............................................................................ 29
FIGURE 4-10: THICKNESS/ANGLE MANAGER WINDOW ................................................................................................ 30
FIGURE 5-1: WINDOWS AVAILABLE UNDER LAMINATE DROP-DOWN MENU ..................................................................... 31
FIGURE 5-2: THE LAMINATE TAB, AS IT APPEARS IN THE LAMINATE PROPERTIES WINDOW............................................... 33
FIGURE 5-3: Q-BAR TAB BEFORE AND AFTER RESULTS ARE CALCULATED FOR A LAMINATE ............................................. 34
FIGURE 5-4: COMPUTED RESULTS SHOWN IN A) THE ABD MATRICES TAB AND B) THE ABD INVERSE MATRICES TAB OF THE
ABD /ABD INVERSE WINDOW. ............................................................................................................................. 36
FIGURE 5-5: LAMINATE ENGINEERING PROPERTIES WINDOW ...................................................................................... 37
FIGURE 5-6: VISUALIZATION OF THE FREE THERMAL DEFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE VARIOUS LAMINATE CTES ... 40
FIGURE 5-7: THE LAMINATE LOADS TAB, AS IT APPEARS IN THE STRESS-STRAIN AND STRENGTH ANALYSIS WINDOW .......... 41
FIGURE 5-8: LAMINATE IN-PLANE LOADS AND LAMINATE BENDING LOADS .................................................................. 42
FIGURE 5-9: LAMINATE GLOBAL/LOCAL STRESS/STRAIN TAB ..................................................................................... 43
FIGURE 5-10: MID-PLAIN STRAINS/CURVATURES TAB ................................................................................................ 44
FIGURE 5-11: THE CALCULATE TAB, WITHIN THE FIRST PLY FAILURE WINDOW.............................................................. 46
FIGURE 5-12: PROGRESSIVE FAILURE FEATURE WITHIN LAMINATE DROP-DOWN MENU. ................................................... 47
FIGURE 5-13: PROGRESSIVE FAILURE RESULTS .......................................................................................................... 49
FIGURE 5-14: PROGRESSIVE FAILURE WITH REMOVE NON FAILS FILTER INVOKED .......................................................... 50
FIGURE 5-15: STRESS-STRAIN PLOT OF PROGRESSIVE FAILURE RESULTS ........................................................................ 50
FIGURE 5-16: THE CALCULATE TAB, WITHIN THE FIRST PLY FAILURE SURVEY WINDOW ................................................. 52
FIGURE 5-17: PLOTTED RESULTS OF FIRST PLY FAILURE SURVEY ................................................................................. 52

FIGURE 5-18: THE CALCULATE TAB, WITHIN THE FAILURE ENVELOPE WINDOW ............................................................. 53
FIGURE 5-19: FAILURE ENVELOPE PLOTTED RESULTS ................................................................................................. 55
FIGURE 6-1: GEOMETRY, POSITION AND ORIENTATION OF A LAMINATED PLATE .............................................................. 56
FIGURE 6-2: THE LAMINATE TAB, AS IT APPEARS IN THE PLATE BENDING WINDOW ........................................................ 58
FIGURE 6-3: THE PLATE GEOMETRY TAB, AS IT APPEARS IN THE PLATE BENDING WINDOW ............................................. 59
FIGURE 6-4: THE CALCULATE TAB, AS IT APPEARS IN THE PLATE BENDING WINDOW ...................................................... 60
FIGURE 6-5: LOADS AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS FOR PLATE BENDING ANALYSIS ....................................................... 61
FIGURE 6-6: PLATE STABILITY CALCULATE TAB ........................................................................................................ 62
FIGURE 6-7: LOADS AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS FOR PLATE STABILITY ANALYSIS ...................................................... 63
FIGURE 6-8: THE CALCULATE TAB, AS SEEN IN THE PLATE VIBRATION WINDOW ............................................................ 64
FIGURE 6-9: BOUNDARY CONDITIONS FOR PLATE VIBRATION ANALYSIS ...................................................................... 65
FIGURE 7-1: GEOMETRY, POSITION AND ORIENTATION OF A LAMINATED SANDWICH PLATE .............................................. 66
FIGURE 7-2: THE LAMINATE TAB, AS IT APPEARS IN THE SANDWICH BEAM BENDING WINDOW ........................................ 68
FIGURE 7-3: SANDWICH GEOMETRY TAB, AS IT APPEARS IN THE SANDWICH BEAM BENDING WINDOW ............................. 69
FIGURE 7-4: THE CALCULATE TAB, AS SEEN IN THE SANDWICH BEAM BENDING WINDOW ............................................... 70
FIGURE 7-5: LOAD TYPES AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS FOR SANDWICH BEAM BENDING ............................................... 72
FIGURE 7-6: THE CALCULATE TAB IN THE SANDWICH PANEL BENDING WINDOW ........................................................... 73
FIGURE 7-7: THE CALCULATE TAB OF THE SANDWICH STABILITY WINDOW ................................................................... 74
FIGURE 7-8: BOUNDARY CONDITIONS FOR SANDWICH STABILITY ANALYSIS ................................................................. 76
FIGURE 8-1: THE LAMINATE TAB, AS SEEN IN THE TUBE/BEAM BENDING WINDOW ......................................................... 79
FIGURE 8-2: THE TUBE GEOMETRY TAB, AS SEEN IN THE TUBE/BEAM BENDING WINDOW ............................................... 80
FIGURE 8-3: TUBE BEAM BENDING CALCULATE WINDOW .......................................................................................... 81
FIGURE 8-4: TUBE/BEAM TORSION CALCULATE WINDOW ........................................................................................... 83
FIGURE 8-5: TUBE/BEAM VIBRATION CALCULATE WINDOW ....................................................................................... 85
FIGURE 8-6: TUBE/BEAM CYLINDER STABILITY CALCULATE WINDOW ......................................................................... 87
FIGURE 8-7: COLUMN STABILITY CALCULATE TAB .................................................................................................... 90
FIGURE 8-8: THIN WALL PRESSURE VESSEL CALCULATE TAB ..................................................................................... 92
FIGURE 9-1: VF WF CONVERTER WINDOW ............................................................................................................. 95
FIGURE 9-2: FILAMENT WINDING LAYUP CALCULATOR .............................................................................................. 96
FIGURE 9-3: FABRIC THICKNESS CALCULATOR .......................................................................................................... 99
FIGURE 9-4: ROVING CONVERTER .......................................................................................................................... 100
FIGURE 9-5: RADIUS OF CURVATURE CALCULATOR ................................................................................................. 102
FIGURE 9-6: RADIUS OF CURVATURE CALCULATE TAB ............................................................................................. 103
FIGURE 9-7: LAMINATE SURVEY WINDOW .............................................................................................................. 104
FIGURE 9-8: LAMINATE SURVEY RESULTS WINDOW ................................................................................................ 105
FIGURE 9-9: FABRIC BUILDER FABRIC TYPE SELECTION ............................................................................................. 106
FIGURE 9-10: EXAMPLE OF A RANDOM CONTINUOUS MAT LAYUP ................................................................................ 106
FIGURE 9-11: FABRIC BUILDER RANDOM MAT PAGE 2: MICROMECHANICS ................................................................... 107
FIGURE 9-12: FABRIC BUILDER RANDOM MAT PAGE 3: CREATE FABRIC ....................................................................... 108
FIGURE 9-13: FABRIC BUILDER RANDOM MAT PAGE 3A: LAMINA SELECTION ............................................................... 108
FIGURE 9-14: FABRIC BUILDER RANDOM MAT PAGE 4: FAILURE STRENGTH CRITERIA ................................................... 109
FIGURE 9-15: FABRIC BUILDER RANDOM MAT PAGE 5: FABRIC STRENGTHS ................................................................. 109
FIGURE 9-16: FABRIC BUILDER RANDOM MAT PAGE 10: FABRIC NAME ........................................................................ 110
FIGURE 9-17: FABRIC BUILDER RANDOM MAT PAGE 11: CREATE LAMINATE ................................................................ 111
FIGURE 9-18: EXAMPLE OF A WOVEN FABRIC LAYUP ................................................................................................. 111
FIGURE 9-19: FABRIC BUILDER WOVEN FABRIC PAGE 2: FABRIC ORIENTATION ............................................................. 112
FIGURE 9-20: FABRIC BUILDER WOVEN FABRIC PAGE 3: FIBER VOLUME % .................................................................. 113
FIGURE 9-21: EXAMPLE OF A STITCHED FABRIC LAYUP .............................................................................................. 114
FIGURE 9-22: FABRIC BUILDER STITCHED FABRIC PAGE 2: FABRIC ORIENTATION ......................................................... 114
FIGURE 9-23: OPTIMIZE LAMINA FOR MCT WINDOW ............................................................................................... 115
FIGURE 9-24: EXPORT MATERIAL WINDOW ............................................................................................................ 117
FIGURE 9-25: MATERIAL DEFINITION PREVIEW WINDOW.......................................................................................... 119
FIGURE 10-1: HELIUS:COMPOSITEPRO REGISTRATION WINDOW ................................................................................ 121

List of Symbols

Symbol as it
Appears in
Program Description English Units SI Units

A [A] extensional stiffness matrix for CLT lb/in lb/in
A Inverse [A] inverse extensional stiffness matrix for CLT in/lb m/N
B [B] coupling stiffness matrix for CLT lb N
B Inverse [B] inverse coupling stiffness matrix for CLT 1/lb 1/N
b (subscript)
C
Denotes bending
Distance to extreme fiber from neutral axis

in

m
c (subscript) Denotes core material
CS Area Cross sectional area in
2
m
2
CTcr Critical torque factor
CTE Coefficient of thermal expansion in/in/F m/m/C
CME Coefficient of moisture expansion in/in/%moisture m/m/%moisture
dCell Honeycomb core cell diameter in m
D [D] bending stiffness matrix for CLT lb-in N-m
D Inverse [D] inverse bending stiffness matrix for CLT 1/(lb-in) 1/(N-m)
DEN Density lb/in
3
g/m
3

DENc Density of the core (not the density of the material the
core is made from)
lb/in
3
g/m
3

+e, +eps Tensile strain in/in m/m
-e, -eps Compression strain in/in m/m
E Youngs modulus lb/in
2
Pa
Ec Compressive modulus of a core material lb/in
2
Pa
End Area End area in
2
m
2

f (subscript) Denotes fiber or face sheet for sandwich plates
G Shear modulus lb/in
2
Pa
gage Honeycomb core cell wall thickness in m
gam Shear strain in/in m/m
GcL Core shear modulus in a sandwich plate, x-direction lb/in
2
Pa
GcW Core shear modulus in a sandwich plate, y-direction lb/in
2
Pa
I Area moment of inertia of a beam cross section in
4
m
4
J Polar moment of inertia of a beam/tube cross section
K Thermal Conductivity Btu/(hr-ft-F) W/(m-K)
k (subscript) Denotes curvature
L Plate length in the X-direction, Beam length. in m
m (subscript) Denotes matrix

Symbol as it
Appears in
Program Description English Units SI Units
%m Percent moisture content % %
N Resultant plate load lb/in N/m
NU Poissons ratio
P Concentrated point load lb N
p Uniform distributed load lb/in
2
Pa
+S Tensile strength lb/in
2
Pa
-S Compression strength lb/in
2
Pa
T Thickness of face sheets or core material in m
W Plate width in the Y-direction in m
W Point load on a beam lb N
w Distributed load on a beam lb/in N/m
X X-direction of coordinate system
x (subscript) X-direction
Y Y-direction of coordinate system
y (subscript) Y-direction
1 (subscript) Lamina 1-direction (i.e. fiber direction)
11 (subscript) Lamina 1-direction (i.e. fiber direction)
2 (subscript) Lamina 2-direction (i.e. transverse to fiber direction)
22 (subscript) Lamina 2-direction (i.e. transverse to fiber direction)
12 (subscript) Lamina 12 shear direction (i.e. in plane direction), or for
NU12 denotes deflection in 2-direction due to load in 1-
direction

21 (subscript) For NU21 denotes deflection in 1-direction due to load in
2-direction

1 Introduction

Helius:CompositePro
TM
presents version 4.2 of the popular CompositePro design and analysis software
for fiber-reinforced composite materials, laminates and structures. Helius:CompositePro provides the user
with a single graphical user interface that permits fast easy access to a multitude of composite analysis
tools that are based on Classical Laminate Theory (CLT) and micromechanics. Helius:CompositePros
vast arsenal of composite analysis tools bridges the gap between engineering hand calculations and full-
scale finite element analysis, providing analysts and designers with instantly-available, detailed
information on the behavior of composite materials and composite laminates. Helius:CompositePro is
simple and intuitive to use, allowing the user to interactively explore the many different what-if scenarios
that constitute a large part of the design and analysis process. Helius:CompositePro will quickly become
the most valuable tool in your composites toolbox.

Helius:CompositePro delivers fast, accurate solutions for bending, vibration and buckling of laminated
plates, sandwich panels, laminated tubes and laminated beams. In addition, Helius:CompositePro
computes an extensive array of basic laminate response data such as laminate stiffness and compliance
matrices, equivalent engineering properties, laminate mid-plane strains and curvatures, ply stresses, ply
strains, laminate strengths, progressive failure responses, failure envelopes, and much more. At the ply
level, Helius:CompositePros micromechanics module can be used to predict the response of the
composite material based on known properties of the fiber and matrix materials.

In addition to retaining all the functionality that was present in CompositePro 3.0, the new
Helius:CompositePro provides the user with:
a re-designed graphical user interface,
expanded platform support,
advanced plotting, printing and results-exporting features,
expanded list of failure criteria (including Hashin and Puck),
expanded failure prediction functionality.

CompositePro comes with an extensive material database of pre-characterized composite materials that
can be used to build laminates, in addition to numerous fiber, matrix, and core materials that can be used
to create new composite materials, composite laminates and sandwich panels. Users can easily add new
composite materials, constituent materials and laminates to the material database.

This Users Guide provides a step-by-step description of each analysis feature that is contained in
Helius:CompositePro.

2 Graphical User Interface

The Helius:CompositePro Graphical User Interface (GUI) provides the user with access to nine different
drop-down menus, seven toolbar items, and a material data file tree (see Figure 2-1). The nine drop-down
menus (File, New Item, Laminate, Plate, Sandwich, Tube/Beam, Utilities, Window, and Help)
collectively provide access to all of Helius:CompositePros functionality. The seven toolbar items allow
quick access to a few select functions that can also be accessed from within the drop-down menus.
Finally, the material data file tree is used to view the list of materials that are currently available in the
Helius:CompositePro material database, or to create, edit or delete materials. The toolbar options and
material data file tree are described here in Section 2. Sections 3-10 will describe in detail the
functionality available in the dropdown menus.

Upon opening Helius:CompositePro, a welcome screen appears that provides access to three commonly
used data creation tools. The Micromechanics tool allows the user to create a lamina using a
micromechanics tool that takes fiber and matrix data and calculates the resulting lamina properties
(covered in detail in Section 4.2). The New Lamina tool allows the user to create a lamina by entering
the orthogonal material properties. The New Laminate tool allows the user to create a composite
laminate from stored or previously created laminae (covered in detail in Section 4.4). The user also has
the option of choosing not to show the welcome screen on startup by checking off the Show Welcome
Screen box.

Look for this icon to see whats new in Helius:CompositePro. For users familiar with previous
versions of CompositePro, clicking on this icon provides a message window that directs the user to the
section in this users guide where they can find more information about the added functionality provided
by Helius:CompostiePro.

Figure 2-1: Helius:CompositePro GUI at start-up

2.1 Toolbar Options
The Helius:CompositePro Toolbar is used for quick access to certain functions that can also be found
within the drop-down menus. Nine options are available on the toolbar:

New Material Library:
Used to create a new Helius:CompositePro material
library. New material libraries cannot be saved in the
same folder containing the original
Cp2010Data.xml material file.
Import File:
Used to import an existing material file into the
Helius:CompositePro material database.
Import Directory:

Used to import a folder containing multiple material
files into the Helius:CompositePro material database.
Sort File Tree:

Used to sort materials in the material data file tree
alphanumerically according to material name.
Preferences:

Used to select the system of units used by
Helius:CompositePro, customize the layout of the
Helius:CompositePro GUI, and/or change the
location of the Helius:CompositePro material
database.
Users Guide
Used to access the Helius:CompositePro users guide
External Help
Used to access up-to-date Helius:CompositePro
information from Firehole Composites website
About Helius:CompositePro
Used to display the version number for
Helius:CompositePro, copyright information and a
hyperlink to Firehole Composites website

Note: When importing individual material data files or entire directories of material data files, the
default import file type is set to Helius:CompositePro. The import file type must be set to
CompositePro 3 if the user wishes to import material files that were created in CompositePro 3.

2.2 Material Data File Tree

Helius:CompositePros Material Data File Tree provides quick access to any of the materials that are
stored in the Helius:CompositePro material database. See Appendix B for a complete list of the pre-
defined materials that are stored in the Helius:CompositePro material database. Existing materials can be
selected, edited or deleted. In addition, new materials can be created and added to the
Helius:CompositePro material database. The material data file tree has six branches as shown in Figure
2-2 The six branches are Thickness/Angle Templates, Fibers, Matrices, Laminas, Cores, and Laminates.

Figure 2-2: Material Data File Tree, Highlighting the Matrices Branch

Viewing Materials:

The file tree can be used to quickly view the list of materials that are available in the
Helius:CompositePro material database. Helius:CompositePro comes with a large number of Fiber,
Matrix, Lamina, and Core material types already defined in the Helius:CompositePro material database.
The list of individual materials that is available under each type of material can be viewed by clicking the
(+) button located to the left of the material type of interest in the material data file tree. To hide the list
of individual materials that is available under a particular type of material, simply select the minus (-)
button located to the left of the material type in the material data file tree. Figure 2-2 shows the file tree
after opening the Matrices branch.

File Tree Options:

There are 5 options that can be used within the material data file tree. These options are accessed by
pointing to a particular branch or file and right-clicking. The five options are:

1) New Used to create a new thickness/angle template, material, or laminate data file that will
be added to the Helius:CompositePro material database. When using the New option, the
user must explicitly specify all of the parameters needed to define the new thickness/angle
template, material, or laminate. This option can be accessed by right clicking on a particular
branch within the file tree and selecting New. Figure 2-3 shows the New option being
accessed to create a new Fiber material data file.

2) Sort File Tree Used to sort materials displayed within the File Tree in alphanumeric order.
Material names that start with numbers will be sorted first in numerical order followed by
material names starting with letters in alphabetical order.

Figure 2-3: File Tree, New Material Option

3) Edit Used to edit any of the material data files or thickness/angle templates that appears in
the material data file tree. This option can be accessed by right-clicking on a particular
material data file or thickness/angle template that appears in the material data file tree and
selecting Edit. Figure 2-4 shows the options that are available after right-clicking on the
Epoxy material data file that appears on the Matrices branch.

4) Delete Used to delete material files from the Helius:CompositePro material database. This
option can be accessed by right-clicking on a particular material data file or thickness/angle
template that appears in the material data file tree and selecting Delete (see Figure 2-4).


Figure 2-4: File Tree, Edit/Delete Material Option

5) New From Micro-Mechanics Used to create a new Lamina material by using micro-
mechanics to define the lamina properties that result from a particular combination of fiber
and matrix materials that are stored in the Helius:CompositePro material database. This
option can be accessed by right-clicking on the Laminas branch and selecting the option
New From Micro-Mechanics (Figure 2-5).

6) Laminate Engineering Props Used to calculate and display the 2D and 3D material
properties of a Laminate. This option can be used by right-clicking on a laminate that
appears in the Laminates branch and then selecting Laminate Engineering Props (Figure
2-5).

Figure 2-5: File Tree, New From Micro-Mechanics and Laminate Engineering Props features

3 File Module

The first drop-down menu that appears at the top of the Helius:CompositePro GUI is the File menu.
Selecting the File menu exposes a list of six options that can be accessed: New Material Library,
Import File, Import Directory, Sort File Tree, Preferences, and Exit. These options collectively
provide the user with functionality to import individual material files or an entire directory of material
files into the Helius:CompositePro material database, specify the system of units to be used by
Helius:CompositePro, customize the layout of the Helius:CompositePro GUI, or exit
Helius:CompositePro. Each of the five options is described below.

1) New Material Library is used to create a new Helius:CompositePro material library. New
material libraries cannot be saved in the same folder containing the original Cp2010Data.xml
material file (this folder is Data upon install). A new folder can be created in the
Helius:CompositePro directory to store a new material library as shown in Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1: Creating a New Material Library Folder

2) Import File: Brings up the Import File window (Figure 3-2) where the user can import an
individual material file into the Helius:CompositePro material database. Helius:CompositePro
recognizes six different types of material data files: fiber files (*.fib), matrix files (*.mat),
lamina files (*.lma), laminate files (*.lmt), thickness/angle templates (*.lay), and core files
(*.cor).


Figure 3-2: Import File/Directory Window

3) Import Directory: Brings up the Import Entire Directory window where the user can import
an entire user-specified directory of material files into the Helius:CompositePro material
database.

4) Sort File Tree: Used to sort materials displayed within the File Tree in alphanumeric order.
Material names that start with numbers will be sorted first in numerical order followed by
material names starting with letters in alphabetical order. This tool also syncs the File Tree with
the material library, which will add any material files that may otherwise be missing from the
File Tree.

5) Preferences: Brings up the Helius:CompositePro Preferences dialog box (Figure 3-3) where
the user can specify various user preferences and set licensing options. Each of the features
that can be accessed within the Preferences dialog box is described below.

Figure 3-3: Preferences User Options Tab

As shown in Figure 3-3, there are five options under the User Options Tab:

o Units - Select English or SI units for all data that is displayed in Helius:CompositePro
and all calculations performed by Helius:CompositePro.

- SI (Pa) units (N/m/K) strength and stiffness must be entered in Pascals (Pa),
density in grams per cubic meter (g/m
3
), temperature in degrees Celsius (C), and
geometry in meters (m).
- SI (MPa) units (N/mm/K) strength and stiffness must be entered in mega-
pascals (MPa), density in grams per cubic millimeter (g/mm
3
), temperature in
degrees Celsius (C), and geometry in millimeters (mm).
- English units (lb/in/F) strength and stiffness are expressed pounds per square
inch (lb/in
2
), density is expressed in pounds per cubic inch (lb/in
3
), temperature is
expressed in degrees Fahrenheit (F), and distance is expressed in inches (in).
o Tree View Docking - Select the location where the Material Data File Tree will appear
within the Helius:CompositePro GUI left or right
o Show Welcome Screen - When checked, the Welcome screen (Figure 2-1) will be
displayed at each startup.
o Use Most Recent Laminate - When checked, the most recent laminate used in a session
will be automatically applied in each laminate analysis module opened. When
unchecked, the user will be required to select a laminate for each analysis initiated using
the Open button.

o Data Source - Used to select a particular Cp2010Data.xml file that will be used to build
the Helius:CompositePro material database

Selecting the Licensing tab in the Preferences window will result in the display seen in
Figure 3-4.


Figure 3-4: Preferences Licensing Tab

There are four different fields within the Preferences Licensing Tab, as seen in Figure 3-4. Each
field is discussed below however, more information about licensing options can be found in
Appendix A.

o License Type - Used to select node-locked licensing (CryptoLicensing) or network
licensing (FlexLM)
o Server Scheme - Used to select the network licensing scheme. This information will be
provided to the user by Firehole Composites.
o Port Number - Specifies the port number used to check out licenses from the license
server. This information will be provided to the user by Firehole Composites.
o Server Name / IP - Specifies the name or IP address of the license server machine.

6) Exit: The final option in the File dropdown will exit the Helius:CompositePro program.

4 New Item Module

The second drop-down menu that appears at the top of the Helius:CompositePro GUI is the New Item
menu. The New Item menu provides access to functionality for creating new fiber materials, new matrix
materials, new core materials, new lamina materials, new laminates, or new thickness/angle templates.
Each of the seven options that can be selected from the New Item menu is described below.

1) New Fiber:
This option is used to create a new fiber material. Selecting this option brings up the New
Fiber window where the user defines the name of the new fiber material and specifies its
properties. To add the new fiber material to the Helius:CompositePro material database,
press the Save button. To abandon the new fiber material without saving it to the
Helius:CompositePro material database, press the Close button.

2) New Matrix:
This option is used to create a new matrix material. Selecting this option brings up the New
Matrix window where the user defines the name of the new matrix material and specifies its
properties. To add the new matrix material to the Helius:CompositePro material database,
press the Save button. To abandon the new matrix material without saving it to the

3) New Lamina:
This option is used to create a new lamina material. Selecting this option brings up the New
Lamina window where the user defines the name of the new lamina material and specifies the
properties of the new lamina material. To add the new lamina material to the
Helius:CompositePro material database, press the Save button. To abandon the new lamina
material without saving it to the Helius:CompositePro material database, press the Close
button.

4) New Lamina from Micromechanics:
This option is used to create a new lamina material when the user does not know the
properties and/or strengths of the new lamina material. When this option is selected,
Helius:CompositePro uses micromechanics to compute the properties of the new lamina
material based on the properties of the fiber material and the matrix material that are selected
by the user. Selecting this option brings up the Calculate Lamina Properties window which
contains two tabs. The first (default) tab is the Calculator tab. This tab allows the user to
select a particular fiber material and a particular matrix material, in addition to specifying the
fiber volume fraction or the matrix volume fraction. Pressing the Calculator button then
invokes Helius:CompositePros micromechanics module which computes the material
properties and strengths of the new lamina. The computed properties of the new lamina are
then displayed in the Results tab. To add the new lamina material to the
Helius:CompositePro material database, press the Save button under the Results tab.
Alternately, the user can go back to the Calculator tab to change the lamina's constituent
materials or change the fiber volume fraction and re-compute the properties of the new
lamina. To abandon the new lamina material without saving it to the Helius:CompositePro
material database, simply close the Calculate Lamina Properties window without pressing the
Save button.

- Micromechanics is the theory by which lamina mechanical properties can be calculated
based upon the lamina's fiber material, matrix material and fiber volume fraction. The
principal material coordinate system for the lamina is shown in Figure 4-1. The fibers are
assumed to be continuous and oriented parallel with the '1' direction. The fibers are
primarily responsible for the high strength and stiffness of the lamina in the '1' direction.
The matrix material (or resin) provides inter-fiber elastic support, thus giving stability to
the collection of reinforcing fibers. The matrix material is primarily responsible for
providing the lamina's stiffness and strength in the '2' and '3' directions (perpendicular to
the fibers), as well as the shear stiffness and strength of the lamina in the three principal
planes.

- Helius:CompositePro's micromechanics module computes the elastic properties of the
lamina using a quasi-3D micromechanical finite element model that assumes a uniform
hexagonal array of fibers distributed in the matrix material. Helius:CompositePro's
micromechanics module computes the strengths of the lamina using various closed form
expressions

for the strain-to-failure in various fundamental modes of deformation.

- For fiber volume fractions less than 30% the finite element micromechanics model is not
available. In this case the elastic constants are calculated using well known closed form
algebraic solutions.

See Sections 4.1 and 4.2 for more detailed information on the process of creating a new
lamina material.

Figure 4-1: Principal lamina coordinate system

5) New Core:
This option is used to create a new core material. Selecting this option brings up the New
Core window where the user defines the name of the new core material and specifies its
properties. To add the new core material to the Helius:CompositePro material database, press
the Save button. To abandon the new core material without saving it to the

6) New Thickness/Angle Template:
This option is used to create a new thickness/angle template. A thickness/angle template is a
collection of data that completely defines the geometry of a laminate, but does not have any
specific materials associated with it. This geometric data includes the number of plies in the
laminate, the thickness of each ply and the fiber orientation of each ply. A thickness/angle
template can be used to during the creation of a new laminate (discussed in Section 4.3) to

instantly supply all of the geometric information needed in the specification of the new
laminate. Thus, stored thickness\angle templates are useful for providing easy access to
certain laminate geometries that the user anticipates using frequently. See Section 4.3 for
more detailed information on the process of creating a new thickness/angle template.

7) New Laminate:
This option is used to create a new laminate. Selecting this option brings up the New
Laminate window which permits the user to define the name of the laminate, the geometry of
the laminate, and identify the materials that are used for each of the laminate's material plies.
Section 4.4 provides detailed information regarding the process of using this option to create
a new laminate.

- Lamination is the process by which composite material plies or laminae are stacked
and cured together to form a layered material with unique stiffness and strength
characteristics. In order to specify the fiber orientation of the various plies of the
laminate, the user assumes a global coordinate system that can be oriented in any manner
that is convenient for the user, provided that the global Z direction coincides with the
through-the-thickness direction of the laminate.
- Helius:CompositePro uses two dimensional Classical Laminated plate Theory (CLT) as
the basis of calculation for laminated beams, plates and shells. Note that free edge effects
are not accounted for in CLT analyses.

See Section 4.4 for more detailed information on the process of creating a new laminate.

Figure 4-2: a) Laminate Coordinate System, b) Cylindrical Laminate Tube Coordinate System

4.1 Creating a New Fiber, Matrix, Core and Lamina

Upon selecting the New Fiber, New Matrix, New Core, or New Lamina option from New Item drop-
down menu, Helius:CompositePro brings up a new material window that is appropriate for the type of
new material selected. In either case, the user must:

1. Specify a name for the new material,
2. Specify the in-plane properties and a density of the new material,
3. Save the new material in the Helius:CompositePro material database.

New Fiber, New Matrix, or New Core: Figure 4-3a shows the New Matrix window which is similar to
the New Fiber window and New Core window. These windows differ only in the specific properties that
are available for user specification.

New Lamina: Figure 4-3b shows the New Lamina window. Unidirectional lamina are assumed to be
transversely isotropic, with the properties in the 2 direction being equal to the properties in the 3
direction. The Calculate Strains button located on the window allows the user to calculate ultimate
lamina strains that correspond to the various ultimate strengths of the lamina:

Figure 4-3: (a) New Matrix window, (b) New Lamina window

The following list briefly describes the material properties that can be entered into Helius:CompositePro.
White fields (as shown in Figure 4-3 a & b) indicate the minimum properties required; greyed-out boxes
are not required for basic mechanical analyses.

Material Extension and Shearing Moduli:

E11 (psi) Effective Youngs modulus of the material in the axial 11-direction
E22 (psi) Effective Youngs modulus of the material in the transverse 22-direction
E33 (psi) Effective Youngs modulus of the material in the transverse 33-direction

G12 (psi) Effective shear modulus of the material in the 12-direction

NU12 Poissons ratio interpreted as the free contraction of the material mid-plane in the 2-direction
in response to an imposed extension of the material mid-plane in the 1-direction.

CTE1 (in/in/F) Thermal expansion coefficient of the material in the 11-direction. This
coefficient governs the free expansion or contraction of the material mid-plane in
the 1-direction due to a uniform temperature change.
the global 2-direction due to a uniform temperature change.
the global 3-direction due to a uniform temperature change.

CME1 (in/in/F) Moisture expansion coefficient of the material in the 11-direction. This
the 1-direction due to a uniform moisture change.
the global 2-direction due to a uniform moisture change.
the global 3-direction due to a uniform moisture change.

+S1 (psi) Normal tensile strength of the material in 11-direction.
-S1 (psi) Normal compressive strength of the material in 11-direction.
+S2 (psi) Normal tensile strength of the material in 22-direction.
-S2 (psi) Normal compressive strength of the material in 22-direction.
S12 (psi) Shear strength of the material in the 12-direction.

+e1 (in/in) Normal strain in the 11-direction caused by uniaxial tensile stress +S1.
-e1 (in/in) Normal strain in the 11-direction caused by uniaxial compressive stress S1.
+e2 (in/in) Normal strain in the 22-direction caused by uniaxial tensile stress +S2.

-e2 (in/in) Normal strain in the 22-direction caused by uniaxial compressive stress S2.
e12 (in/in) Shear strain in the 12-direction caused by shear stress +S12.

K1 (Btu/hr/ft/F) Thermal conductivity of the material in the 11-direction.

For core materials:

Ec (psi) Compressive modulus of the core material.
GcL (psi) Core shear modulus in the sandwich plate x-direction.
GcW (psi) Core shear modulus in the sandwich plate y-direction.
DENc (lb/in
3
) Density of the core; not the density of the material the core is made from.
dCell (in) Honeycomb core cell diameter.
gage (in) Honeycomb core cell wall thickness.

4.2 Calculating New Lamina Properties from Micromechanics

If the user needs to define a new fiber-reinforced composite material but does not have measured
properties for the composite material, Helius:CompositePro can use micromechanics to calculate the
properties of the new composite material based on known properties of the fiber and matrix constituent
materials. Helius:CompositePros micromechanics module utilizes a detailed finite element model of a
fiber/matrix unit cell that features a uniform hexagonal distribution of parallel fibers embedded in a
matrix material. The micromechanical finite element model utilizes the properties of fiber and matrix
materials specified by the user, in addition to the fiber volume fraction specified by the user.
Helius:CompositePro determines the composite materials elastic properties (e.g., moduli and Poisson
ratios) by using the micromechanical finite element model to simulate the various fundamental
load/deformation relationships of the composite material. The use of Helius:CompositePros
micromechanics module is described below.

Selecting the New Lamina from Micromechanics option from the New Item brings up the Calculate
Lamina Properties window shown in Figure 4-4. Note that the Calculate Lamina Properties window has
two tabs: Calculator and Results. Within the Calculator tab, the user specifies data that defines the new
lamina material. The Results tab is used to display the properties of the new lamina material that are
computed with the Helius:CompositePro micromechanics module. All of the data items that are entered
in the Calculate Lamina Properties window are described below.

Figure 4-4: The Calculate Lamina Properties window

1) Material Selection: The user must identify the constituent materials that make up the new
lamina by selecting a fiber material and a matrix material from the Helius:CompositePro
material database. The Helius:CompositePro micromechanics module will use the properties
of the selected fiber and matrix materials to compute elastic properties and strengths of the
new lamina material.

2) Percent Content: The user must specify the fiber volume fraction (as a percent) or the
matrix volume fraction (as a percent). If the user only has fiber and matrix weight fractions,
then Helius:CompositePros Vf-Wf Converter (see Section 9.1) can be used to convert
weight fractions to volume fractions.

1
2
3

3) Calculate: After completing Items A and B, click the Calculate button to run the
Helius:CompositePro micromechanics module to compute the elastic properties and strengths
of the new lamina. Upon completion of the micromechanics calculations, the Calculate
Lamina Properties window automatically switches to the Results tab to display the properties
of the new lamina. Note that if the properties of the new lamina are unacceptable, the user
can simply go back to the Calculator tab, change one or more of the input data items, and
recalculate the properties of the new lamina.

Figure 4-5: Results tab of the Calculate Lamina Properties window

4) Saving Results: The new lamina material can be entered in the Helius:CompositePro
material database by clicking the Save button that appears under the Results tab. Once the
new lamina is entered into the material database, the lamina material can be used to define
new laminates.

4

4.3 Creating a new Thickness/Angle Template

Helius:CompositePro comes with 18 predefined Thickness/Angle Templates (9 templates for a
carbon/epoxy system and 9 templates for a glass/epoxy system. Selecting New Thickness/Angle
Template brings up the Edit Thickness/Angle Template window as shown in Figure 4-6. Each of the
data items that are entered in the Edit Thickness/Angle Template window is discussed below.

Figure 4-6: Thickness/Angle Template window

1) Template Name: The name of new thickness/angle template must be specified by the user.

2) Layup Window: This window displays each of the plies that the user has added to the
thickness/angle template. Figure 4-6 shows four plies that have been added to the
thickness/angle template. The numbering of the plies increases in the direction of the
positive global Z axis (see Figure 4-9 in Section 4.4). Thus the first ply in the list is always
the ply located at the algebraically smallest global Z coordinate. Likewise, the last ply in the
list is always the ply located at the algebraically largest global Z coordinate. For each ply, the
layup window lists the thickness of the ply and the fiber angle of the ply (relative to the
global coordinate system.

Note: All fiber orientation angles are expressed in degrees and must be between -90
and 90. Ply orientation angles are measured as rotations about the global Z axis
(right-hand rule positive). A fiber orientation angle of 0 corresponds to the positive
global X direction; a fiber orientation angle of +45 corresponds to a direction half-
way between the positive global X direction and the positive global Y direction; a
fiber orientation angle of +90 corresponds to the positive global Y direction

3) C Template Build Options: The template build options allow the user to perform a
number of common laminate building tasks, including adding a new ply, doubling the current
number of plies to make the laminate symmetric, repeating the current number and sequence
of plies, or save the thickness/angle template.

1
3
2

.

Add Ply The Add Ply button is used to add individual plies to the layup. Pressing the
add button will place a new ply at the bottom of the layup. After the new ply appears in
the layup window, the user must define the thickness and fiber orientation angle of the
new ply. To define the thickness of the new ply, left click in the space provided, then
type in the thickness value and press the Enter key. The fiber orientation angle is defined
similarly.

Symmetric The symmetric button is used to create a mirror image of a selected group
of plies and add them to the bottom of the laminate. To use this option, the user first
selects (or highlights) a group of plies from the layup window by left-dragging the cursor
over gray boxes to the left of each ply in the group. After the desired group of plies is
highlighted, the user clicks the Symmetric button, and Helius:CompositePro creates a
mirror image group of plies and adds them to the bottom of the laminate.

Repeat The Repeat button is used to replicate a selected group of plies and add them
to the bottom of the laminate. To use this option, the user first selects (or highlights) a
group of plies from the layup window by left-dragging the cursor over gray boxes to the
left of each ply in the group. After the desired group of plies is highlighted, the user
clicks the Repeat button, and Helius:CompositePro creates a new group of plies (exactly
like the highlighted group) and then adds the new group of plies to the bottom of the
laminate.

Export After a thickness/angle template has been created, the user can press the
Export button on the to write the thickness/angle template to a *.csv file that is
compatible with Microsoft Excel.

Save This command saves the thickness/angle template. The saved template will then
be visible in the file tree under Thickness/Angle Templates.

4.4 Creating a new Laminate

Selecting New Laminate from the New Item drop-down menu brings up the New Laminate window as
shown in Figure 4-7.

Figure 4-7: New Laminate window, shown before the user has added any plies

1) Laminate Name: The name of the new laminate must be specified by the user and typed in
the box labeled Laminate Name. If Use Most Recent Laminate is checked under Preferences,
the window will be populated with the laminate most recently used in a session.

2) Rotate Laminate By (deg.): This option will rotate all plies in the laminate by a specified
angle that must be in the range of -90 to 90. The default value of the laminate rotation
angle is zero. The laminate rotation is performed about the global Z axis (right-hand rule
positive). After specifying a nonzero laminate rotation angle, click the Apply button to
perform the rotation. Note that the laminate rotation angle is only performed on plies that
have already been defined and appear in the display window. After performing a laminate
rotation, any new plies that are added to the laminate are not subjected to the previously
imposed laminate rotation.

3) Coupling: When the Coupling option is set to Zero, Helius:CompositePro forces the
laminate to behave as if it was a balanced, symmetric laminate by explicitly zeroing the entire
[B] matrix, along with the shear/extension coupling terms of the [A] matrix. This process
effectively eliminates the bending-extension coupling and the in-plane normal-shear coupling
of the laminate. In a balanced laminate, off-axis plies come in equal and opposite pairs, i.e.,
for every ply that has a fiber orientation angle of +o, there is a corresponding ply of the same
material and thickness at a fiber orientation angle of o. In a symmetric laminate, the plies
located below the mid-plane of the laminate constitute the mirror image of the plies located
above the mid-plane of the laminate. A balanced, symmetric laminate has both of these
characteristics (e.g., [0/ +45/-45/-45/ +45/0]). Note that the default setting for the
1
5
4
3
2

Coupling option is Non-Zero which results in Helius:CompositePro utilizing the full un-
altered [A], [B] and [D] matrices in any laminate calculations. When to zero coupling:

- Tubes Closed symmetrical cross-sections will behave as if they are balanced
symmetric even if the layup is not.
- Sandwich Plates For similar face sheets, which is currently the way
Helius:CompositePro is programmed, sandwich panels behave as balanced
symmetric due to the counteracting effect of one face sheet to the other.
- For Laminate Comparisons To see the effect a balanced symmetric layup would
have on the properties of your layup.

4) D Display Area: The display area is used to display the data for all material plies that have
been added to the laminate. The specific data displayed for each ply includes its material
type, thickness and fiber orientation angle (relative to the global coordinate system). The
lamina is specified using a dropdown menu. The dropdown will menu will include all of the
laminae available in the My Data material database when the New Laminate window was
opened. (Thus, any new lamina created while the Laminate window is open will not yet be
available. To resolve, simply open a fresh New Laminate window after the Lamina is added
to the data tree.)

Figure 4-8 shows the New Laminate window with material ply data visible in the display area
after the user has added some plies to laminate. It should be emphasized that the ordering of
the plies in the display area is interpreted relative to the global Z direction that is assumed for
the laminate (see Figure 4-9). The first ply listed in the display area (listed as ply #1) is
always located at the negative global Z surface of the laminate. The last ply in the display
area is always located at the positive global Z surface of the laminate.

Figure 4-8: The New Laminate window, showing plies that have been added to the laminate


Figure 4-9: Ply order and the specific location top, middle, and bottom within each ply of a
laminate relative to the assumed global Z direction of the laminate

5) Template Build Options: The template build options provide the user with functionality for
building the new laminate that will appear in the display area of the New Laminate window.
Each of the template build options (Add Ply, Insert, Symmetric, Repeat, Library, Delete,
Clear, and Save) is described below.

Add Ply Clicking on the Add Ply button will add a new ply to the end of the current list of
plies. After the new ply appears at the bottom of the display area, the user must specify the
type of material to be used for the ply, the thickness of the ply, and the fiber orientation angle
of the ply. To specify the type of material for the new ply, the user simply selects one of the
available materials listed in the drop-down menu located in the Lamina column of the
display area. To define the thickness of the new ply or the fiber orientation angle of the new
ply, simply left-click in the appropriate cell, type the number value and press the Enter key.

Insert The Insert button adds a ply to a specified location in the laminate that is visible in
the display area of the New Laminate window. To use this option the user must select the
row where the ply is to be inserted. Clicking on the Insert button will place a new ply
immediately above the selected row. The selected ply and all plies below the selected ply in
the laminate will shift down one row.

Symmetric The Symmetric button is used to create a mirror image of a group of plies that
the user selects from the display area of the New Laminate window. The resulting mirror
image group of plies is automatically added to the end of the list of plies in the display area.
To use this feature, the user first selects (or highlights) a group of plies in the display area of
the New Laminate window. A group of plies can be selected by holding down the Shift key
while left-clicking the first and last plies of a contiguous group of plies, or holding down the
Ctrl key while left-clicking a series of contiguous or noncontiguous plies. After the desired
group of plies is highlighted, the user clicks the Symmetric button, and Helius:CompositePro
creates a mirror image group of plies and adds the new plies to the end of the laminates list
of plies.

Repeat The Repeat button is used to replicate a selected group of plies and add the new
plies to the end of the list of plies. To use this feature, the user first selects (or highlights) a
group of plies from the layup window. After the desired group of plies is highlighted, the
user clicks the Repeat button, and Helius:CompositePro creates a new group of plies (exactly
like the highlighted group) and then adds the new group of plies to the bottom of the
laminate.

Library Clicking on the Library button will bring up the Thickness/Angle Manager
window as shown in Figure 4-10. This window allows the user to quickly import a stored
thickness/angle template that will define the geometry of a group of plies (i.e., the number
and order of plies, the thickness of each ply, and the fiber orientation of each ply). The
imported plies will be automatically added to the list of plies appearing in the display area of
the New Laminate window. After importing a thickness/angle template into the new
laminate, the user has only to identify the material to be used for each of the plies in the
thickness/angle template. The Thickness/Angle Manager window contains three options that
control the process of importing a thickness/angle template:

1) Add Template This option allows the user to select the location where the plies of
the imported thickness/angle template will be inserted into the existing laminate that
is visible in the display area of the New Laminate window. Replace Current will
simply replace all of the existing plies with the plies of the imported thickness/angle
template. Append adds the plies of imported thickness/angle template to the end of
the existing list of plies. Insert After Ply adds the plies of imported thickness/angle
template immediately after a specific ply from existing list of plies.
2) Lamina The lamina option allows the user to select a single material that will be
used for all of the plies in the thickness/angle template. The default setting No
Lamina will simply add the thickness/angle template to the laminate layup without
specifying a material for any of the plies. The Use Lamina option allows the user
to apply a single material type to all of the plies in the thickness/angle template.
3) Choose Template The Thickness/Angle Manager window provides a list of all
stored thickness/angle templates. The user simply selects the desired thickness/angle
template from the list.

Figure 4-10: Thickness/Angle Manager window

Delete To delete selected ply(s) from the new laminate layup, press the Delete button.

Clear To permanently remove all plies from the display area of the New Laminate
window, press the Clear button. This allows the user to quickly start over.

Save To save the new laminate material in the Helius:CompositePro material database,
click the Save button in the New Laminate window. The saved laminate will then be visible
in the material data file tree in the Helius:CompositePro GUI.

5 Laminate Module

The Laminate drop-down menu provides access to four different laminate analysis windows. Below is a
brief description of various laminate analysis features that can be accessed from the Laminate drop-down
menu. A detailed description of these features and their use is given in Sections 5.2 through 5.5.

Figure 5-1: Windows available under Laminate drop-down menu

1) Laminate Properties This window includes several basic functions to determine laminate
properties:

- Q-bars: For each ply in a laminate, Helius:CompositePro computes the plane stress (or
reduced) stiffness matrix [ Q] expressed in the global coordinate system.

- [ABD], [ABD] Inverse: Helius:CompositePro uses Classical Laminate Theory (CLT) to
compute the 6x6 laminate stiffness matrix (expressed in terms of the 3x3 [A], [B] and [D]
matrices), or the 6x6 laminate compliance matrix (expressed in terms of the 3x3 [A]
Inverse, [B] Inverse and [D] Inverse matrices).

[A] matrix defines the in-plane extensional and shearing stiffness of the laminate.
[B] matrix defines coupling between the in-plane stiffness of the laminate and the
bending stiffness of the laminate.
[D] matrix defines the bending stiffness of the laminate.

- Laminate Engineering Properties: Helius:CompositePro computes a set of 2-D and 3-D
engineering properties for a homogeneous material that has the same effective properties as
the laminate. These 2-D and 3-D engineering properties are the smeared properties of the
laminate. Note: The computed values within this calculator are for symmetric and
balanced laminates. Use caution when using these values for un-symmetric and/or un-
balanced laminates.

2) Stress-Strain and Strength Analysis This window includes several options for determining
the stress, strain and strength of a laminate:

- Global/Local Stress/Strain: Helius:CompositePro computes the stress and strain state in
each ply of a laminate when the laminate is subjected to a user-specified set of in-plane and
bending loads. The computed ply stresses and strains can be expressed in the global
coordinate system or the principal material coordinate system of each individual ply.

- Mid-Plane Strains/Curvatures: Helius:CompositePro computes the laminates mid-plane
strains and mid-plane curvatures when the laminate is subjected to a set of user-specified
in-plane and bending loads.

- First Ply Failure: When a laminate is subjected to a user-specified set of in-plane and
bending loads, Helius:CompositePro identifies the first ply that fails and identifies the type
of failure (failure mode) exhibited by the ply.

- Progressive Failure: Helius:CompositePro computes the progressive failure response of
the laminate due to a user-specified set of in-plane and bending loads.
Helius:CompositePro identifies the sequence of individual plies that fail as the laminate is
progressively loaded. When a particular ply fails, the stiffness of the failed ply is
drastically reduced to simulate the consequence of its failure. Degradation of the failed
plys properties causes additional load to be distributed among the remaining unfailed plies
as loading is continued. Depending upon the particular laminate being analyzed and the set
of loads applied to the laminate, the ply-by-ply progressive failure process can be sudden
and catastrophic or very gradual and non-catastrophic

3) First Ply Failure Survey: Helius:CompositePro determines the laminates axial tensile
strength, axial compressive strength, transverse tensile strength, transverse compressive
strength, and in-plane shear strengths based on first ply failure.

4) Failure Envelope: Helius:CompositePro computes a failure envelope for a laminate subjected
to a pair of user-specified in-plane loads. The failure envelope concisely shows all possible
combinations of the two selected in-plane loads that cause laminate failure.

Upon selecting any one of these four options from the Laminate drop-down menu, a window will appear
with the associated analyses options separated into tabs, as shown in Figure 5-1. Each of the four
windows begins with the same Laminate tab where the user defines the laminate that will be used in the
analysis. Therefore, before providing a detailed description of the use of the four laminate analysis
options, Section 5.1 will first provide a detailed description of this common Laminate tab.

5.1 Laminate Tab
The Laminate tab is the first tab encountered in all four of the laminate analysis feature windows. Figure
5-2 shows the Laminate tab as it appears in the Laminate Properties window. The Laminate tab allows
the user to define the laminate that will be used in the chosen laminate analysis feature.

If Use Most Recent Laminate is checked under Preferences, the Laminate tab will be populated with the
laminate most recently used in a given session. Otherwise, the Laminate tab is similar to the New
Laminate window described earlier in Section 4.4. With it, the laminate can be defined in either of two
ways:

1) Use an existing Laminate Any laminate that is stored in the Helius:CompositePro material
database can be read and loaded into the Laminate tab. To view the list of available
laminates in the database, click the Open button on the Laminate tab. The user can select any
laminate from the list by double-clicking the name of the desired laminate, which prompts
Helius:CompositePro to read the material data file of the selected laminate and display the
laminates data in the display window of the laminate tab. The laminate data shown in the
display window of the Laminate tab includes the material type, thickness and fiber orientation
angle for each of the material plies that make up the laminate.

2) Create a new Laminate Instead of using a laminate that is stored in the
Helius:CompositePro material database, the user can build a new laminate in the Laminate
tab using the same procedure described earlier in Section 4.4. After defining the material and
geometric data for the new laminate, the user should give the laminate a name (in the
Laminate Name box) and press the Save button to store the new laminate in the
Helius:CompositePro material database before attempting to perform any analysis on the
laminate. (Note, the Lamina dropdown will menu will include all of the laminae available in
the My Data material database when the Laminate Properties window was opened. If a
lamina was created while the Lamina Properties window is open, the window will have to be
closed and re-opened to register the new lamina. )

Figure 5-2: The Laminate tab, as it appears in the Laminate Properties window

5.2 Laminate Properties
The Laminate Properties window under the Laminate drop-down menu includes four basic functions,
divided into tabs, to determine laminate properties.

- Q-Bars
- ABD Matrices
- ABD Inverse Matrices
- Properties

Note that clicking the Calculate button will produce results for each tab. These functions are described in
detail in the following sections.

5.2.1 Q-Bars
A [ Q] matrix is a 3x3 matrix that represents the plane stress (or reduced) stiffness matrix for a particular
material ply in a laminate, expressed in the global coordinate system. Once the [ Q] matrix is computed
for a particular ply, the global stress components {o} in the ply can be computed by multiplying the [ Q]
matrix by the global strain components {c} in the ply, i.e., {o} = [ Q]{c}.

To Execute:
Once a laminate is defined in the Laminate tab, the [ Q] matrix can be calculated for each ply simply by
clicking the Calculate button in the Q-Bars tab. Helius:CompositePro displays the results in the results
window of the Q-Bars tab. After the matrices are computed and displayed, the Export button can be
clicked to write the results to a *.csv file that is compatible with Microsoft Excel.

Figure 5-3: Q-Bar tab before and after results are calculated for a laminate

5.2.2 [ABD] Matrices and [ABD] Inverse Matrices
In Classical Laminate Theory, the [A], [B] and [D] matrices collectively form the laminate stiffness
matrix. The laminate stiffness matrix is used to express the laminate resultant forces per unit width {N}
and the laminate resultant moments per unit width {M}in terms of the laminate mid-plane strains {c
0
} and
the laminate mid-plane curvatures {k}, as shown in Eq. 5.1.

)
`
=
)
`
k
c
o
D B
B A
M
N
(5.1)

In Classical Laminate Theory, the [A'], [B'] and [D'] matrices collectively form the laminate compliance
matrix. The laminate compliance matrix is used to express the laminate mid-plane strains {c
o
} and the
laminate mid-plane curvatures {k} in terms of the laminate resultant forces per unit width {N} and the
laminate resultant moments per unit width {M}, as shown in Eq. 5.2.

)
`
=
)
`
M
N
D B
B A
o
' '
' '
k
c
(5.2)

In Helius:CompositePro, the laminate compliance matrix is referred to as the [ABD] inverse matrix, and
the individual 3x3 matrices [A'], [B'] and [D'] of Eq. 5.2 are referred to as the [A] inverse, [B] inverse
and [D] inverse matrices.

To Execute:
Once a laminate has been defined in the Laminate tab, the ABD Matrices tab can be selected to compute
the [A], [B] and [D] matrices for the laminate, or the ABD Inverse Matrices tab can be selected to
compute the [A'], [B'] and [D'] matrices for the laminate. In either case, the user clicks the Calculate
button to compute the matrices and display the results. Figure 5-4 shows both the ABD Matrices tab and
ABD Inverse Matrices tabs after the user has clicked on the Calculate button. After the matrices are
computed and displayed, the Export button can be clicked to write the results to a *.csv file that is
compatible with Microsoft Excel.


Figure 5-4: Computed results shown in a) the ABD Matrices tab and b) the ABD Inverse Matrices tab of the
ABD /ABD Inverse window.

Note: If the laminate is balanced and symmetric, the entire [B] matrix is zero and the in-plane normal-
shear coupling terms A
16
, A
26
are also equal to zero.

5.2.3 Properties
The effective engineering properties of a laminate are computed by selecting the Properties tab feature
from the Laminate Properties window. Once a laminate has been defined in the Laminate tab,
the laminate engineering properties can be computed by clicking the Calculate button.
Helius:CompositePro computes the laminates 2-D and 3-D properties and displays the results in the 2-D
and 3-D display windows of the Properties tab (see Figure 5-5).

Note: This function is also available by right clicking on an existing laminate in the file tree and selecting
Laminate Engineering Props.

Figure 5-5: Laminate Engineering Properties Window

After the laminate engineering properties are displayed, there are three different options that can be
invoked within the Properties tab.

1) Plot Moduli This button displays a bar graph of the extensional and bending moduli as well
as the shear modulus. This is particularly handy for visualizing the magnitude of the
differences in the moduli.

2) Plot CTE This button creates a bar graph that displays all six of the laminate coefficients of
thermal expansion: three extensional coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEx, CTEy, and
CTExy) and three curvature coefficients of thermal expansion (CTExk, CTEyk, and
CTExyk). This is particularly handy for visualizing the magnitude of the differences in the
various CTE's.


The curvature CTEs are of particular interest because they show the magnitude of the un-
symmetric or unbalanced nature of the laminate. Whenever the CTE plot shows curvature
coefficients of magnitude equal or greater than the extensional coefficients, the laminate will
show some degree of warping.

3) Add to LAMINA Properties This button automatically creates a new lamina material
whose properties are equivalent to the effective 3-D properties of the current laminate. The
name of the new lamina material will be the same as the name of the current laminate. The
new lamina material will be visible under the Laminas branch of the Material Data File tree.

The following list briefly describes some of the 2-D and 3-D laminate properties that are computed by the
Laminate Engineering Props feature.

Laminate Extension and Shearing Moduli:

Ex (psi) Effective Youngs modulus of the laminate in the global X-direction
Ey (psi) Effective Youngs modulus of the laminate in the global Y-direction
Ez (psi) Effective Youngs modulus of the laminate in the global Z-direction
Gxy (psi) Effective shear modulus of the laminate in the global XY-plane
Gxz (psi) Effective shear modulus of the laminate in the global XZ-plane
Gyz (psi) Effective shear modulus of the laminate in the global YZ-plane

Laminate Poissons Ratios:

NUxy Poissons ratio interpreted as the free contraction of the laminate mid-plane in the
global Y direction in response to an imposed extension of the laminate mid-plane in
the global X direction.
NUyx Poissons ratio interpreted as the free contraction of the laminate mid-plane in the
global X direction in response to an imposed extension of the laminate mid-plane in
the global Y direction.
NUxz Poissons ratio interpreted as the free contraction of the laminate mid-plane in the
global Z direction in response to an imposed extension of the laminate mid-plane in
the global X direction.
NUzx Poissons ratio interpreted as the free contraction of the laminate mid-plane in the
global X direction in response to an imposed extension of the laminate mid-plane in
the global Z direction.
NUyz Poissons ratio interpreted as the free contraction of the laminate mid-plane in the
global Z direction in response to an imposed extension of the laminate mid-plane in
the global Y direction.
NUzy Poissons ratio interpreted as the free contraction of the laminate mid-plane in the
global Y direction in response to an imposed extension of the laminate mid-plane in
the global Z direction.

Note: The following relationship exists between the various corresponding pairs of Poissons
ratios:

Ex
NUxy
Ey
NUyx
= (5.3)


Laminate Flexural Properties:

Exb (psi) Laminate bending modulus in global YZ-plane.
Eyb (psi) Laminate bending modulus in global XZ-plane.
Gxyb (psi) Laminate twisting modulus associated with twisting deformation that produces
displacement in the global Z direction.

Thermal Deformation Coefficients:

CTEx (in/in/F) Thermal expansion coefficient of the laminate in the global X-direction.
This coefficient governs the free expansion or contraction of the laminate
mid-plane in the global X-direction due to a uniform temperature change.
CTEy (in/in/F) Thermal expansion coefficient in the global Y-direction. This coefficient
governs the free expansion or contraction of the laminate mid-plane in
the global Y-direction due to a uniform temperature change.
CTExy (in/in/F) Thermal shear coefficient in the global XY-plane. This coefficient
governs the free in-plane shear deformation of the laminate mid-plane in
the global XY-plane due to a uniform temperature change.
CTExk (in/in/F) Thermal curvature coefficient in the global YZ-plane. This coefficient
governs the free bending of the laminate mid-plane in the global YZ-
plane due to a uniform temperature change.
CTEyk (in/in/F) Thermal curvature coefficient in the global XY-plane. This coefficient
governs the free bending of the laminate mid-plane in the global XZ-
plane due to a uniform temperature change.
CTExyk (in/in/F) Thermal twisting coefficient associated with displacements in the global
Z-direction. This coefficient governs the free out-of-plane twisting of
the laminate mid-plane due to a uniform temperature change.

Note: Figure 5-6 shows the free thermal deformation associated with each of the laminate
coefficients of thermal expansion and curvature.

Moisture Expansion Coefficients:

The coefficients of moisture expansion (CME) are completely analogous to the thermal expansion
coefficients described previously. The only difference is that the magnitude of deformation is
dependent on the uniform % moisture change instead of being dependent on the uniform
temperature change.


Figure 5-6: Visualization of the Free Thermal Deformation Associated with the various Laminate CTEs

5.3 Stress-Strain and Strength Analysis
The Stress-Strain and Strength window, under the Laminate drop-down menu, includes four analysis
functions divided into tabs:

- Global/Local Stress/Strain
- Mid-Plane Strans/Curvatures
- First Ply Failure
- Progressive Failure

Note that the Laminate and Laminate Loads tabs must be populated to conduct any of these four analyses.

5.3.1 Laminate Loads Tab
The Laminate Loads tab is used to define the in-plane loads and bending loads that will be applied to the
laminate chosen for the any for the four analyses. Figure 5-7 shows the Laminate Loads tab as it appears
in the Stress-Strain and Strength Analysis window. There are eight different types of laminate loads that
can be specified in Laminate Loads tab: six different mechanical loads (three in-plane loads and three
bending loads), a thermal load and a moisture load. Figure 5-8 shows the six different mechanical loads,
including their names and their positive senses relative to the global coordinate system.

Figure 5-7: the Laminate Loads tab, as it appears in the Stress-Strain and Strength Analysis window

The Laminate Loads tab contains a drop-down menu labeled Load Type with three possible choices
(Stress, Strain, or Resultant) which dictate the units used for specifying the three in-plane mechanical
loads (i.e., the Axial Load, the Transverse Load, and the Shear Load) . For example, if the user selects
Strain in the Load Type box, then the in-plane loads are specified as imposed mid-plane strains.
Alternately, if the user selects Resultants in the Load Type box, then the in-plane loads are specified as
net force per unit width. The units used for specifying the bending loads, thermal load and moisture load
are unaffected by the users selection of Stress, Strain, or Resultant in the Load Type box. Bending

moments are always specified as moment per unit width. Thermal loading is always specified as a
uniform temperature change expressed in degrees, and moisture loading is always specified as a uniform
% moisture change.

Figure 5-8: Laminate In-plane Loads and Laminate Bending Loads

5.3.2 Global/Local Stress/Strain
The laminate Global/Local Stress/Strain feature is used to compute the stress and strain in each ply of the
laminate when the laminate is subjected to a user-specified set of in-plane and bending loads. The
computed ply stress and strain can be expressed in either the global coordinate system or the principal
material coordinate system of each individual ply.

Once a laminate has been defined in the Laminate tab and loads have been applied in the Laminate Loads
tab, the ply stresses or strains are computed by simply switching to the Global/Local Stress/Strain tab and
then clicking on the Calculate button (Figure 5-9). Note that there are three different options in this tab
that can be used to control the results that are computed and displayed. These are described below.

1) Coordinate System This option changes the coordinate system in which the ply stresses and
strains are expressed. Selecting global will display the lamina stress and strains in the global
coordinate system, and selecting local will display the lamina stress and strains in the local (or
lamina) coordinate system (i.e., the principal material coordinate system of the lamina).

2) Stress/Strain This option allows the user to request stresses or strains to be computed for each
ply of the laminate.

3) Location This option allows the user to specify the location (top, middle, or bottom) within
each ply where stresses or strains will be computed. If top is selected, the stresses or strains will
be computed at the top of each ply. Similarly, if middle or bottom is selected, then the stresses
or strains will be computed respectively at the middle or bottom of each ply. The interpretation
of the top and bottom of a particular ply can be seen in Figure 4-9 in Section 4.4.

Figure 5-9: Laminate Global/Local Stress/Strain Tab

Plotting Results:
After the ply stresses or ply strains have been computed and displayed, the user can click on the Plot
button to plot the distribution of ply stresses or strains through the thickness of the laminate. The
resulting plot window has a number of icons for various plotting options. For information on using these
plotting options, please refer to ChartFX documentation available online.

5.3.3 Mid-Plane Strains/Curvatures
The Laminate Mid-Plane Strain/Curvatures feature is used to compute the membrane strains and bending
curvatures of the laminate's mid-plane that are caused by a user-specified set of in-plane loads and
bending loads.

tab, simply click the Calculate button in the Mid-Plane Strains/Curvatures tab (Figure 5-10) and
Helius:CompositePro will compute and display the mid-plane strains and curvatures .

Figure 5-10: Mid-Plain Strains/Curvatures Tab

5.3.4 First Ply Failure
The First Ply Failure feature is used to identify the first ply that fails within a laminate as the laminate is
subjected to a user-specified set of in-plane loads and bending loads.

tab, the user can then perform a First Ply Failure Analysis as follows:

1) The user must first select one of the seven failure criteria that are available in the Select Failure
Criterion drop-down menu. (See Appendix C for details on available failure criteria.) In the event
that the selected failure criterion requires specification of additional parameters, the button
will become available. In this case, the user should click the button to define the required
parameters.
2) Next, the drop-down menu labeled Failure Location Within Plys: should be used to select the
location (top, middle, bottom) within each ply where the selected failure criterion will be
evaluated.
3) The First Ply Failure Analysis can then be performed by clicking the Calculate button.
Helius:CompositePro then displays the results in the results window.

The results of the First Ply Failure analysis include the following:

1. Helius:CompositePro identifies the ply number of the first ply to fail within the laminate.
2. Depending upon the specific failure criterion used in the analysis, Helius:CompositePro
might identify the specific mode of failure.
3. Helius:CompositePro displays the failure index of the first ply to fail. The failure index
corresponds to the numerical value of the failure criterion that was used in the first ply failure
analysis. In the event that the user-specified loads are in excess of the loads required to reach
first ply failure, the reported failure index may be far in excess of 1.0; however, it is
understood that the material fails as soon as the failure index reaches a value of 1.0.
4. The safety factor is displayed as well for the first ply to fail. A value greater than one
indicates failure has not occurred and the ply can withstand additional load. The amount of
additional load is the value of the safety factor multiplied by the load vector. If the safety
factor is equal to or less than one, and greater than zero, a failure has been predicted under
the prescribed loading. If the safety factor is less than zero this indicates
Helius:CompositePro was unable to calculate the safety factor. This typically indicates the
load is too small. Increasing the load will, in most cases, allow for a safety factor calculation.


Figure 5-11: The Calculate tab, within the First Ply Failure window

5.3.5 Progressive Failure
The Progressive Failure feature is used to determine the progression of individual ply failures and the
associated progressive laminate stiffness degradation that occurs as the laminate is progressively
subjected to a set of user-specified loads.

Note: Users of CompositePro versions 3.0 and earlier will find that this feature has changed. In these
early versions, the supplied load vector was scaled exactly to achieve one ply failure at a time. Beginning
in Helius:CompositePro 4.0 the supplied load vector is applied incrementally. This yields the simulated
response of the laminate under a load-controlled experiment. It is possible to input loads that do not cause
any failures.

To perform a Progressive Failure analysis of a laminate, the user selects the Progressive Failure tab
from within the Stress-Strain and Strength Analysis window, found under the Laminate drop-down menu.


Figure 5-12: Progressive Failure feature within Laminate drop-down menu.

tab, the user can then define specific aspects of the Progressive Failure analysis and then perform the
analysis. The steps involved in this process are indicated in items 1-8 in Figure 5-12 and are described
below:

1) Number of Load Increments The user can define the number of load increments (default
= 200) to be used in the Progressive Failure analysis.

2) Failure Criterion The user can select the failure criterion to be used in the Progressive
Failure analysis by choosing from among the seven failure criteria available under the 'Select
Failure Criterion' drop-down menu. (See Appendix C for details on available failure criteria.)
In the event that the selected failure criterion requires the specification of additional
parameters, the button will become available (highlighted). In this case, the user should
click the button to define the required parameters before proceeding.

3) Location for Failure Evaluation The user can identify the location (top, middle, bottom)
within each ply where the failure criterion will be evaluated (default = middle).

4) Degradation Factors / Fiber Degradation Factors The user can specify degradation
factors for the various properties (E11, E22, G12, and/or NU12) of any lamina that
experiences a failure. A value of 1.0 assigned to a lamina property means that the property
retains it full original value after the lamina fails, while a value of 0.01 assigned to a lamina
1
2
3
4 5
6
7
8

property means that the property will be reduced to 1% of its original value after the lamina
fails.

If the failure criterion chosen is MCT this option becomes Fiber Degradation Factors and
the user can specify these values for the fiber constituent only. When MCT predicts a fiber
failure the fiber and matrix properties will be degraded using the supplied values from the
Fiber Degradation Factors and the Matrix Degradation Factors respectively. A new
composite stiffness will be calculated via micromechanics using the reduced properties.

5) Matrix Degradation Factors This option is only applicable to analyses utilizing the MCT
failure criterion. The user can specify the degradation factors for the matrix constituent of the
composite. When MCT predicts a matrix failure the matrix properties will be degraded using
the supplied values (while the fiber properties are kept at an undamaged state) and a new
composite stiffness will be calculated via micromechanics.

6) Calculate/Remove Non Fails After the user has finished modifying any of the analysis
control parameters, the Progressive Failure analysis is initiated by clicking the Calculate
button. This will display the results in tabulated form. The user can select the Remove Non
Fails button to display a tabulated list of only failed plies.

7) Export After the results have been computed and displayed, the Export button can be
clicked to write the results to a *.csv file that is compatible with Microsoft Excel.

8) Plot After Helius:CompositePro performs the analysis, the user can request that the results
be displayed in a 2-D graph by clicking the Plot button.

- X-Axis (Identify Strain Component) The user selects the strain component that will
be plotted on the horizontal axis of the progressive failure plot. Available choices
include
x
,
y
,
xy
.

- Y-Axis (Identify Stress Component) The user selects the stress component that will
be plotted on the vertical axis of the progressive failure plot. Available choices include
x
,
y
,
xy
.

Results
An example of the results generated in a Progressive Failure analysis is shown in Figure 5.13. (To see a
video demonstration of this example, visit Helius:CompositePro at www.firehole.com.)


Figure 5-13: Progressive Failure Results

In Figure 5-13, the user has scrolled down the list of load increments to expose load increments 172
through 184. Note that the data line for any particular load increment lists the volume averaged laminate
stresses (o
xx
, o
yy
, o
xy
), the volume averaged laminate strains (c
xx
, c
yy
, c
xy
), and the largest ply failure index
in the laminate. The averaged stress and strains for a laminate can be found using Equations (5.4 and
5.5).

tot
nplys
i
i i
t
t
=
=
1
o
o
(5.4)

tot
nplys
i
i i
t
t
=
=
1
c
c
(5.5)

If a particular load increment results in the failure of one or more plies, Helius:CompositePro will reveal 3
things:
1. The row of date is highlighted for any load increment that resulted in the failure of one or more
plies. For example, Figure 5-13 shows load increment 177 as highlighted since it resulted in the
failure of a material ply.
2. The newly failed plies are listed in the Failed Ply Number(s) column for the load increment in
question.
3. The failure mode of the failed ply is listed in the Failure Mode column for the load increment in
question. (See Appendix C for the definition of failure mode for each available failure criteria.)
After the results are displayed, the user can take the following actions:

- Remove Non Fails The user can optionally filter the results so that Helius:CompositePro only
displays the load increments where ply failures occurred. This is shown in Figure 5-14.
- Export The user can also optionally print the Progressive Failure results to a *.csv file that is
compatible with Microsoft Excel by clicking the Export button.
- Plot - The following should be noted when plotting:
o Plotting with the Remove Non Fails filter invoked will only plot the failed points.
o When plotting the user should take note when the last ply in the laminate has failed and
mark this as the laminates ultimate strength. All other data points plotted after this
ultimate strength should be neglected. An example of this is shown in Figure 5-14 where
the failed plies of a random laminate are shown. Here, it is indicated that the ultimate
axial strength of the laminate is 1.78 E+05 psi. A plot of the failure analysis is then
shown in the Figure 5-15. It is possible to see the data point highlighted in red
corresponds to the predicted ultimate strength of the laminate and therefore all data points
plotted beyond this should be neglected.

Figure 5-14: Progressive Failure with Remove Non Fails filter invoked

Figure 5-15: Stress-strain plot of Progressive Failure results

5.4 First Ply Failure Survey
The First Ply Failure Survey feature is used to compute the strength of the laminate in five fundamental
modes of laminate loading: axial tension, axial compression, transverse tension, transverse compression,
and in-plane shear. To perform a First Ply Failure Survey analysis of a laminate, the user selects the
First Ply Failure Survey option from the Laminate drop-down menu. Helius:CompositePro responds by
bringing up the First Ply Failure Survey window that contains two tabs corresponding to the two steps
needed to perform the analysis. These two steps are described below.

1) Define the Laminate Use the Laminate tab as discussed in Section 5.1 to create a new laminate
or import an existing laminate from the Helius:CompositePro material database.

2) Calculate Results Use the Calculate tab (see Figure 5-16) to define specific aspects of the First
Ply Failure Survey analysis and then perform the analysis. This is done in three steps
corresponding to the labels in Figure 5-16 as follows:

1. The user must first select one of the seven failure criteria that are available in the Select
Failure Criterion drop-down menu that appears on the Calculate tab (labeled as 1 in
Figure 5-16). (See Appendix C for details on available failure criteria.) In the event that
the selected failure criterion requires specification of additional parameters, the
button will become available (highlighted). In this case, the user should click the
button to define the required parameters.
2. Next, the user should specify the size of the stress increments to use in the use in the First
Ply Failure Survey analysis. This value can be entered in the Stress Increment box
(labeled as 2 in Figure 5-16) and controls the resolution for determining the load at
which first ply failure occurs. The default value is 1% of the lowest strength of any
material in the laminate. The volume averaged stress in the laminate will begin at zero
and increase by the stress increment value until first ply failure occurs.
3. The First Ply Failure Survey analysis is performed by clicking the Calculate button
contained under the Calculate tab (labeled as 3 in Figure 5-16). Helius:CompositePro
then displays the results in the results window of the Calculate tab.
4. The results of the analysis can be plotted in a bar graph by clicking the Plot button under
the Calculated tab ((labeled as 4 in Figure 5-16). An example is shown in Figure 5-17.

The results of the First Ply Failure Survey analysis include the following:

- Helius:CompositePro displays the volume averaged axial tensile strength, axial compressive
strength, transverse tensile strength, transverse compressive strength, and in-plane shear
strength of the laminate.
- For each one of the five fundamental volume averaged laminate strengths,
Helius:CompositePro lists the first ply to fail in the laminate, and possibly the mode of failure
if an applicable failure criterion is selected..


Figure 5-16: The Calculate tab, within the First Ply Failure Survey window

Figure 5-17: Plotted results of First Ply Failure Survey
1
2
3
3
4
3

5.5 Failure Envelope

To generate a failure envelope for a laminate, the user selects the Failure Envelope feature from the
Laminate drop-down menu. Helius:CompositePro responds by opening the Failure Envelope window
that contains two tabs corresponding to the two steps needed to perform the analysis. These two steps are
described below.

1) Define the laminate to be analyzed Use the Laminate tab as discussed in Section 5.1 to create
a new laminate or import an existing laminate from the Helius:CompositePro material database.

2) Calculate Results Select the Calculate tab (see Figure 5-18) to define specific aspects of the
Failure Envelope analysis and then compute the failure envelope. There are several different
aspects of the Failure Envelope analysis that the user can modify from their default settings. The
steps involved in this process are indicated in items 1-9 in Figure 5-18 and are described below:

Figure 5-18: The Calculate tab, within the Failure Envelope window

1. Identify 1
st
Stress Component (X-Axis Stress) The user selects the volume average
laminate stress component that will be plotted on the horizontal axis of the failure envelope.
Available choices include o
xx
(S11) and

o
yy
(S22).

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

2. Identify 2
nd
Stress Component (Y-Axis Stress) The user selects the volume average
laminate stress component that will be plotted on the vertical axis of the failure envelope.
Available choices include o
yy
(S22) or o
xy
(S12).

3. Size of Stress Increments The user can specify the size of the stress increments used to
determine the failure stresses for any given ratio of the two stress components. The default
value is 1% of the lowest strength of any material in the laminate. This value determines the
precision of the failure stress calculations. Smaller stress increments lead to more accurate
determination of failure stresses but require longer times to complete the analysis.

4. Temperature and Moisture Loading The user can include a thermal loading and/or
moisture loading in the Failure Envelope analysis. Note that the thermal and/or moisture
loads are simply added to the two in-plane loads that are specified in boxes 1 and 2 of Figure
5-18.

5. Number of Data Points The user specifies the number of data points used to complete the
failure envelope. The use of more data points allows greater resolution of the shape of the
failure envelope but requires more time to complete the analysis.

6. Select Failure Criterion The user can select the failure criterion to be used in the Failure
Envelope analysis by choosing from among the seven failure criteria available under the
'Select Failure Criterion' drop-down menu. (See Appendix C for details on available failure
criteria.) In the event that the selected failure criterion requires the specification of additional
parameters, the button will become available (highlighted). In this case, the user should
click the button to define the required parameters before proceeding.

7. Location for Failure Evaluation The user can identify the location (top, middle, or
bottom) within each ply where the failure criterion will be evaluated (default = middle). This
data is specified in the Location box.

8. Termination Criterion New in Version 4.2, the termination criterion allows users to
specify criteria for determining that a laminate has completely failed. For failure criteria that
do not differentiate between matrix and fiber failure, the number should be set to the desired
number of plies that must fail to indicate a failed laminate. For those failure criteria that do
differentiate between matrix and fiber failure, the user will be able to specify the desired
number of plies that will fail in either the matrix or the fiber. Fiber failure assumes matrix
failure as well; therefore, the number of fiber failed plies cannot exceed the number of matrix
failed plies. The load on the laminate is increased until the number of specified failed plies
(for either mode) is reached. If the number of failed plies is set to one, first ply failure will be
used for determining laminate failure. This is consistent with the behavior of the Failure
Envelope tool in versions of Helius:CompositePro prior to 4.2.

9. Perform Failure Envelope Analysis The user clicks the Analyze button to perform a
Failure Envelope analysis based on first ply failure. After Helius:CompositePro performs the
analysis, the user can request that the results be displayed in tabular form by clicking the
Tabulate button, or be displayed in a 2-D graph by clicking the Plot button. Note that the
tabulated data and 2-D stress results are the volume-averaged laminate stresses (o
xx
, o
yy
, o
xy
)
The user can also optionally print the tabulated Failure Envelope results to a *.csv file that is

compatible with Microsoft Excel by clicking the Export button. An example of the plotted
results is shown in Figure 5-19.

Figure 5-19: Failure Envelope Plotted Results


6 Plate Module
Helius:CompositePros fourth drop-down provides analysis functions for a composite plate.

Plate Defined
In Helius:CompositePro, a plate is considered to be a rectangular laminate whose thickness dimension (H)
is much smaller than its width dimension (W) or length dimension (L). Figure 6-1 shows the plate
geometry, and the position and orientation of the plate within the global coordinate system. The thinness
restriction (H<<W, H<<L) is necessary to ensure that practical methods of loading the plate primarily
results in in-plane deformation and bending deformation. In other words, the plate does not exhibit
significant transverse shear deformation or transverse normal deformation (c
xz
0, c
yz
0, c
zz
0). Under
these conditions, Classical Laminate Theory is appropriate for modeling the response of the plate to in-
plane loads and bending loads, or modeling the lower natural vibration frequencies of the plate and the
buckling loads of the plate.

Figure 6-1: Geometry, position and orientation of a laminated plate

For the purposes of discussing the bending response of plates, the adjective transverse will be used to
indicate the through-the-thickness direction (or global Z direction). In Helius:CompositePro, bending
analysis of laminated plates is performed using Fourier series methodology originally developed by
Navier, where the transverse displacement component of the plates mid-plane, w(x,y), and the distributed
transverse (pressure) load p(x,y) are each expressed in terms of a double sine series as shown in Eq. 6.1
[see Vinson & Sierakowski (1987), or Whitney (1987)].

w(x,y) = E

m=1
E

n=1
A
mn
sin(mtx/L)sin(nty/W) (6.1a)
p(x,y) = E

m=1
E

n=1
B
mn
sin(mtx/L)sin(nty/W) (6.1b)

In this scheme, the unknown coefficients A
mn
of the transverse displacement component are the primary
unknowns that are sought in the solution process.

Plate Analysis
The Plate Analysis window, accessed from the Plate drop-down menu, provides access to three different
laminated plate analysis features: Bending, Stability and Vibration. Below is a brief description of each
of the three laminated plate analysis features that can be accessed from the Plate Analysis window. A
detailed description of these three analysis features and their use is given in Sections 6.3 through 6.5.


1. Bending: Helius:CompositePro's laminated plate bending analysis feature allows the user to
compute the transverse deflection of a simply supported or clamped plate in response to a
concentrated load or uniformly distributed transverse load.

2. Stability: Helius:CompositePro's laminated plate stability analysis feature allows the user to
compute the critical buckling load of a laminated plate subjected to uniaxial in-plane compression
or biaxial in-plane compression.

3. Vibration: Helius:CompositePro's laminated plate vibration analysis feature allows the user to
compute the fundamental vibration frequency of a laminated plate subjected to simply supported
or clamped boundary conditions.

Together, the Plate Analysis window has five tabs. The first two are the Laminate tab and the Plate
Geometry tab. Once the laminate and the plate geometry are defined, the user may select from one of the
3 analysis tabs to conduct their bending, stability or vibration analysis. Upon selecting one of these tabs,
feature-specific options will enable the user to define aspects of the selected analysiss execution. A
detailed description of these tabs is included in Sections 6.1 through 6.5.

6.1 Laminate Tab
The Laminate tab is the first tab encountered in the Plate Analysis window and is shown in Figure 6-2.
The Laminate tab allows the user to define the laminate that will be used in the chosen laminated plate
analysis. The Laminate tab is similar to the New Laminate window described in Section 4.4. From the
Laminate tab, the laminate can be defined in either of two ways:

database can be read and loaded into the Laminate tab. To view the list of available laminates in
the database, click the Open button under the Laminate tab. The user can select any laminate
from the list by double-clicking the name of the desired laminate, which prompts
Helius:CompositePro to read the material data file of the selected laminate and display the
laminates data in the display window of the Laminate tab. The laminate data shown in the
display window of the Laminate tab includes the material type, thickness and fiber orientation
angle for each of the material plies that make up the laminate.

2) Create a new Laminate Instead of using a laminate that is stored in the Helius:CompositePro
material database, the user can build a new laminate in the Laminate tab using the same
procedure described in Section 4.4. After defining the material and geometric data for the new
laminate, the user should give the laminate a name (in the Laminate Name box) and press the
Save button to store the new laminate in the Helius:CompositePro material database before
attempting to perform any analysis on the laminate. (Note, the Lamina dropdown will menu will
include all of the laminae available in the My Data material database when the Plate Analysis
window was opened. If a lamina was created while the Plate Analysis window is open, the
window will have to be closed and re-opened to register the new lamina. )

Figure 6-2: The Laminate tab, as it appears in the Plate Bending window

6.2 Plate Geometry Tab
The Plate Geometry tab is used to define the in-plane dimensions (width and length) of the laminated
plate. Figure 6-3 shows the Plate Geometry tab after the user has already defined the laminate using the
Laminate tab. Note that the thickness of the laminate is completely defined previously in the Laminate
tab, so this laminate thickness is carried forward into the Plate Geometry tab. Thus the user has only to
specify the length and width of the plate in the Plate Geometry tab. At this point, the user is ready to
proceed to one of the three calculation tabs to calculate Bending, Stability, or Vibration.

Figure 6-3: The Plate Geometry tab, as it appears in the Plate Bending window

6.3 Plate Bending
Helius:CompositePro's laminated plate bending analysis feature allows the user to compute the transverse
deflection of a simply supported or clamped plate in response to a concentrated or uniform distributed
transverse load.

To perform a bending analysis of a laminated composite plate, the user selects the Bending tab from the
Plate Analysis window. Once the Laminate and Plate Geometry have been defined, the user will
complete the following five steps in the Bending tab (Figure 6-4):

Figure 6-4: The Calculate tab, as it appears in the Plate Bending window

1) Specify Loading and Boundary Conditions - The Loading Type / Boundary Conditions drop-
down menu contains three different combinations of transverse loading and boundary conditions
that can be selected by the user:

1. Concentrated Load - SSSS represents a concentrated transverse load acting on a plate
with simply-supported boundary conditions on all four of its edges (see Figure 6-5a).
2. Uniform Load - SSSS represents a uniform distributed transverse load acting on a plate
with simply-supported boundary conditions on all four of its edges (see Figure 6-5b).
3. Uniform Load - CCCC represents a uniform distributed transverse load acting on a
plate with clamped boundary conditions on all four of its edges (see Figure 6-5c).

2) Specify Magnitude of Transverse Loading - The P

-

Pressure box is used to specify the
magnitude of the applied transverse load. When using the "Uniform Load - SSSS" condition or
the "Uniform Load - CCCC" condition, the user must specify a pressure to define the transverse

load. When using the "Concentrated Load - SSSS" condition, the user must specify a net force to
define the transverse load.

3) Specify X, Y Location Where Solution is Computed - The x-Location and y-Location boxes
are used to specify the x, y location where the solution (i.e., the transverse deflection and the
bending moments) will be computed during the plate bending analysis. Note that when the
"Concentrated Load - SSSS" condition is used, the concentrated force is assumed to be applied at
the same point where the solution is calculated. Therefore, when using the "Concentrated Load -
SSSS" condition, the x-Location and y-Location boxes are used to specify the x, y location
where the transverse force is applied and where the solution is computed.

4) Specify Number of Modes to use in the Double Sine Series Solution - The M
max
and N
max

boxes are used to specify the number of sine modes that will be used in the global X and global Y
directions respectively in representing the transverse deflection and transverse loading (see Eqs.
6.1). As the integer values of m
max
and n
max
are increased, the transverse deflection is represented
more accurately. In most cases, m
max
= n
max
= 10 provides a reasonably accurate solution;
however, the solution is obtained very efficiently, so even m
max
= n
max
= 100 returns a solution
rapidly.

5) Calculate Results After specifying all of the problem definition data and solution control data,
the user computes the plate bending solution by clicking on the Calculate button.
Helius:CompositePro displays the solution in the display window. The solution consists of the
transverse deflection and the resultant moments Mx, My and Mxy computed at the user-specified
point of interest in the plate.

Figure 6-5: Loads and Boundary Conditions for Plate Bending Analysis

6.4 Plate Stability
Helius:CompositePro's laminated plate stability analysis feature allows the user to compute the critical
buckling load of a laminated plate subjected to uniaxial in-plane compression or biaxial in-plane
compression.

To perform a stability analysis of a laminated composite plate, the user selects the Stability tab from the
Plate Analysis window. Once the Laminate and Plate Geometry have been defined, the user will
complete the following four steps in the Stability tab (Figure 6-6):

Figure 6-6: Plate Stability Calculate Tab

1) Specify Loading and Boundary Conditions The Loading and Boundary Conditions drop-
down menu contains three different combinations of transverse loading and boundary conditions

1. Uniaxial Compression SSSS: denotes a uniaxial compressive load in the global X
direction, applied to a plate that is simply supported on all four edges (see Figure 6-7a).
2. Uniaxial Compression SSCC: denotes a uniaxial compressive load in the global X
direction applied, to a plate that is simply supported across the width and clamped along
the length (see Figure 6-7b).
3. Bi-axial Compression SSSS: denotes a bi-axial compressive load in the global X and
global Y directions, applied to a plate that is simply supported on all four edges (see
Figure 6-7c.)

2) Specify Number of Modes to use in the Double Sine Series Solution The m
max
and n
max

boxes are used to specify the number of sine modes that will be used in the global X and global Y
directions respectively in representing the transverse deflection (see Eqs. 6.1). As the integer
values of m
max
and n
max
are increased, the transverse deflection is represented more accurately.

In most cases, m
max
= n
max
= 10 provides a reasonably accurate solution; however, the solution is
obtained very efficiently, so even m
max
= n
max
= 100 returns a solution rapidly.

3) Specify the Ratio of Transverse Compression to Axial Compression When using the Bi-
axial Compression SSSS conditions, the user must specify the ratio to be maintained between
the transverse compressive load (global Y direction) and the axial compressive load (global X
direction). The user should enter this ratio into the Ny/Nx Load Ratio box.

4) Calculate Results - After specifying all of the problem definition data and solution control data,
the user computes the plate stability solution by clicking on the Calculate button.
Helius:CompositePro displays the solution in the display window. The solution consists of the
laminated plates critical buckling load expressed as a resultant force.

Figure 6-7: Loads and Boundary Conditions for Plate Stability Analysis

6.5 Plate Vibration
Helius:CompositePro's laminated plate vibration analysis feature allows the user to compute the
fundamental vibration frequency of a laminated plate subjected to simply supported or clamped boundary
conditions.

To perform a vibration analysis of a laminated composite plate, the user selects the Vibration tab from
the Plate Analysis window. Once the Laminate and Plate Geometry have been defined, the user will
complete the following two steps in the Vibration tab (Figure 6-8): .

1) Specify Boundary Conditions The Boundary Condition drop-down menu contains three
different boundary conditions that can be selected by the user:

1. SSSS: denotes a plate that is simply supported along all four edges (see Figure 6-9a).
2. SSCC: denotes a plate that is simply supported along the two edges that span the width
and clamped along the two edges that span the length (see Figure 6-9b).
3. CCCC: denotes a plate that is clamped along all four edges (see Figure 6-9c).

2) Calculate Results - After specifying the boundary conditions for the problem, the user computes
the fundamental vibration frequency of the plate by clicking on the Calculate button under the
Calculate tab. Helius:CompositePro displays the fundamental vibration frequency in the display
window of the Calculate tab (expressed in both radians/second and in Hertz).

Figure 6-8: The Calculate tab, as seen in the Plate Vibration window


Figure 6-9: Boundary Conditions for Plate Vibration Analysis

7 Sandwich Module

Helius:CompositePros fifth drop-down menu provides analysis functions for a composite sandwich plate.

Sandwich Plate Defined
In Helius:CompositePro, a sandwich plate is considered to be a rectangular plate composed of two
identical thin laminates that are bonded to, but separated by, a thick core. Figure 7-1 shows the geometry
of the sandwich plate and its position and orientation relative to the global coordinate system. The length
(L) of the sandwich plate is the plate dimension along the global X axis; the width (W) of the sandwich
plate is the plate dimension along the global Y axis. The total thickness of the sandwich plate is T = 2T
f
+
T
C
where T
f
is the thickness of each of the face sheet laminates and T
C
is the thickness of the core
material. Helius:CompositePro utilizes Classical Laminate Theory for the analysis of the sandwich plate,
thus analysis is restricted to thin sandwich plates where T<<W and T<<L. Under these conditions,
Classical Laminate Theory is appropriate for modeling the bending, buckling and vibration response of
the sandwich plate.

Figure 7-1: Geometry, position and orientation of a laminated sandwich plate

Helius:CompositePros analysis of sandwich plates assumes that the same laminate is used for both the
top set of face sheets and the bottom set of face sheets. Helius:CompositePro does not analyze sandwich
plates that have different laminated face sheets on the top and bottom of the core.

Sandwich Plate Analysis
The Sandwich Analysis window, accessed from the Sandwich drop-down menu, provides access to three
different laminated sandwich composite analysis features: Beam Bending, Panel Bending, and Stability.
Below is a brief description of each of the three laminated sandwich composite analysis features that can
be accessed from the Sandwich Analysis window. A detailed description of these three analysis features
and their use is given in Sections 7.3 through 7.5.

1) Beam Bending: Helius:CompositePro's laminated sandwich beam bending analysis feature
allows the user to compute the transverse deflection of a sandwich beam to a wide variety of
transverse load types and boundary conditions.

2) Panel Bending: Helius:CompositePro's laminated sandwich panel bending analysis feature
allows the user to compute the transverse deflection of a simply supported sandwich plate to a
uniform distributed transverse load.

3) Stability: Helius:CompositePro's laminated sandwich stability analysis feature allows the user to
compute the critical buckling load of a laminated sandwich plate subjected to uniaxial in-plane
compression for a variety of clamped and simply supported boundary conditions.

Together, the Sandwich Analysis window has five tabs. The first two are the Laminate tab and the
Sandwich Geometry tab. Once the laminate and the sandwich geometry are defined, the user may select
from one of the 3 analysis tabs to conduct their beam bending, panel bending or stability analysis. Upon
selecting one of these tabs, feature-specific options will enable the user to define aspects of the selected
analysiss execution. A detailed description of these tabs is included in Sections 7.1 through 7.5.

7.1 Laminate Tab
The Laminate tab is the first tab encountered in the Sandwich Analysis window and is shown in Figure
7-2. The Laminate tab allows the user to define the laminate that will be used for both the top and bottom
face sheets of the sandwich panel. The Laminate tab is similar to the New Laminate window described
earlier in Section 4.4. From the Laminate tab, the laminate can be defined in either of two ways:

database can be read and imported into the Laminate tab. To view the list of available laminates
in the database, click the Open button on the Laminate tab. The user can select any laminate from
the list by double-clicking the name of the desired laminate, which prompts Helius:CompositePro
to read the material data file of the selected laminate and display the laminates data in the display
window of the laminate tab. The laminate data shown in the display window of the Laminate tab
includes the material type, thickness and fiber orientation angle for each of the material plies that
make up the laminate.

include all of the laminae available in the My Data material database when the Sandwich
Analysis window was opened. If a lamina was created while the Sandwich Analysis window is
open, the window will have to be closed and re-opened to register the new lamina. )

Note: The sandwich panel analysis method used by Helius:CompositePro requires that the top and
bottom face sheets must be identical, balanced, symmetric laminates, i.e. [B] = [0] and
A
16
=A
26
=D
16
=D
26
= 0. See Section 4.4, discussing the use of the Coupling option.

Figure 7-2: The Laminate tab, as it appears in the Sandwich Beam Bending window

7.2 Sandwich Geometry Tab
The Sandwich Geometry is used to define the dimensions of the sandwich composite and identify the
material used for its core. Figure 7-3 shows the Sandwich Geometry tab after the user has already
defined the laminate using the Laminate tab. Note that the thickness of the laminate is completely defined
previously in the Laminate tab, so this laminate thickness is carried forward into the Sandwich Geometry
tab. The user then specifies the length and width of the sandwich panel and the thickness of the core
material. In addition, the user selects a core material from the pull-down menu that shows all core
materials that are available in the Helius:CompositePro material database.

Note: Helius:CompositePro requires that the length L of the sandwich panel should be greater than or
equal to the width of the sandwich panel; i.e., L > W. This is a limitation of the sandwich panel
solution formulas used in Helius:CompositePro.

Figure 7-3: Sandwich Geometry Tab, as it appears in the Sandwich Beam Bending window

7.3 Sandwich Beam Bending

Helius:CompositePro's laminated sandwich beam bending analysis feature allows the user to compute the
transverse deflection of a sandwich beam for a wide variety of transverse load types and boundary
conditions.

To perform a sandwich beam bending analysis, the user selects the Beam Bending tab from the
Sandwich Analysis window. Once the Laminate and Sandwich Geometry have been defined, the user
will complete the following five steps in the Beam Bending tab (Figure 7-4):

Figure 7-4: The Calculate tab, as seen in the Sandwich Beam Bending window

1) Specify Boundary Conditions and Load Type The Boundary Conditions and Load drop-
down menu contains seven different combinations of beam end supports and transverse loading
- Simple-Simple / Point denotes simply supported conditions at both ends with a point
load applied at mid-span (see Figure 7-5a)
- Simple-Simple / Uniform denotes simply supported conditions at both ends with a
uniform distributed load (see Figure 7-5b)
- Free-Fixed / Point denotes a cantilevered beam with a point load applied at the free end
(see Figure 7-5c)
- Free-Fixed / Uniform denotes a cantilevered beam with a uniform distributed load (see
Figure 7-5d)
- Free-Fixed / Triangular denotes a cantilevered beam with a distributed load that varies
linearly along the span (see Figure 7-5e)

- Fixed-Fixed / Point denotes clamped support conditions at both ends with a point load
applied at mid-span (see Figure 7-5f)
- Fixed-Fixed / Uniform denotes clamped support conditions at both ends with a uniform
distributed load (see Figure 7-5g)

2) Specify Magnitude of Transverse Loading If a point load is applied to the beam, then the
magnitude of the transverse load is specified in the box labeled W-Load and the specified value
must have units of force. If a uniform distributed load is applied to the beam, then the magnitude
of the transverse load is specified in the box labeled w-Distributed Load and the specified value
must have units of force/length. If a triangular distributed load is applied to the beam (as shown
in Figure 7-5e), then the magnitude of the transverse load is specified in the box labeled w-
Distributed Load and the specified value is the force/length at the beams mid-span.

3) Calculate Results After specifying all of the problem definition data, the user computes the
sandwich beam bending solution by pressing the Calculate button. The printed results consist of
the following quantities:

- SIGfmax: The maximum in-plane stress in the laminated face sheet.
- TAUcmax: The maximum transverse shear stress in the core material. (This value can be
compared to the allowable shear stresses for the selected core material)
- Deflection: The maximum transverse deflection caused only by bending deformation.
- Total Defl: The maximum transverse deflection, due to the combined effects of bending
deformation and transverse shear deformation.
- SIGfdcr: Critical face dimpling stress. If the sandwich panel has a honeycomb core, then
the sandwich panel will fail by face dimpling type buckling if the computed maximum face
sheet stress SIGfmax is greater than the critical face dimpling stress SIGfdcr.
- SIGfwcr: Critical face wrinkling stress. If the computed maximum face sheet stress
SIGfmax is greater than the critical face wrinkling stress SIGfwcr, then the sandwich beam
will fail by face wrinkling type buckling.


Figure 7-5: Load Types and Boundary Conditions for Sandwich Beam Bending

7.4 Sandwich Panel Bending
Helius:CompositePro's laminated sandwich panel bending analysis feature allows the user to compute the
transverse deflection of a simply supported sandwich plate from a uniform distributed transverse load.

To perform a sandwich panel bending analysis, the user first selects the Panel Bending tab from the
Sandwich Analysis window. Once the Laminate and Sandwich Geometry have been defined, the user
will complete the following steps in the Panel Bending tab (Figure 7-6):

Figure 7-6: The Calculate tab in the Sandwich Panel Bending window

1) Specify Load The sandwich panel bending analysis is only performed for a sandwich panel that
is simply supported on all four edges and subjected to a uniform distributed transverse load.
Thus, the user only has to specify the magnitude (force/area) of the uniform distributed load.

2) Calculate Results The solution is then computed by clicking on the Calculate button.
Helius:CompositePro displays the results in the display window. The printed results consist of

- Panel Data: Length L, Width W, Pressure Load, Core Type, Core thickness, and Face Sheet
thickness.
- Max Deflection: The maximum transverse deflection caused only by bending deformation.
- Face Stress: The maximum in-plane normal stress in the laminated face sheet.
- Core Shear Stress side L: The maximum transverse shear stress induced in the core
material along the length.
- Core Shear Stress side W: The maximum transverse shear stress induced in the core
material along the width.
- Critical Face Sheet Wrinkling Stress: If the computed Face Stress is greater than the
critical stress listed here, the sandwich beam will fail in face wrinkling type buckling.
- Critical Face Sheet Dimpling Stress: If the computed Face Stress is greater than the
critical stress listed here, the sandwich beam will fail in face dimpling type buckling. This is
applicable for a honeycomb core panel only.


7.5 Sandwich Stability
Helius:CompositePro's laminated sandwich stability analysis feature allows the user to compute the
critical buckling load of a laminated sandwich plate subjected to uniaxial in-plane compression for a
variety of clamped and simply supported boundary conditions.

To perform a sandwich panel stability analysis, the user first selects the Stability tab from the Sandwich
Analysis window. Once the Laminate and Sandwich Geometry have been defined, the user will complete
the following steps in the Stability tab (Figure 7-7).

Figure 7-7: The Calculate tab of the Sandwich Stability window

1) Specify Boundary Conditions The Boundary Condition drop-down menu contains four
different sets of beam end supports that can be selected by the user.
- SSSS denotes simply supported conditions on all four edges of the panel (see Figure
7-8a),
- CCCC denotes clamped conditions on all four edges of the panel (see Figure 7-8b),
- SSCC denotes simply supported conditions on the loaded edges and clamped conditions
on the non-loaded edges (see Figure 7-8c),
- CCSS denotes clamped conditions on the loaded edges and simply supported conditions
on the un-loaded edges (see Figure 7-8d).

2) Specify Number of Buckling Modes to Examine The m
max
box is used to specify the number
of axial buckling modes to examine in the search for the minimum buckling load. For example, if
m
max
is specified as 10, then the analysis would consider buckled mode shapes that included
between 1 and 10 axial buckling waves. From this group of 10 different buckling modes,

Helius:CompositePro would identify the buckling mode with the lowest buckling load. For
panels that are approximately square, m
max
= 10 is usually sufficient to ensure that the critical
buckling mode is identified correctly. For panels that are much longer than wide, it is often
necessary to increase m
max
into the range of 10 < m
max
< 100.

3) Calculate Results The solution is then calculated by clicking on the Calculate button.
Helius:CompositePro displays the results in the display window. The printed results consist of

- Panel Data: Length L, Width W, Core Type, Core thickness, and Face Sheet thickness.
- Critical m: Corresponds to the number of buckling waves in the axial direction that yields
the lowest buckling load.
- Transverse Shear Flexibility: The transverse shear flexibility of the core. It is compared
against the Critical Transverse Shear Flexibility to determine the buckling mode.
- Critical Transverse Shear Flexibility: The critical transverse shear flexibility of the core. If
the actual transverse shear flexibility of the core meets or exceeds the critical value the
buckling mode will be Core Shear, otherwise it is Overall.
- Overall Instability Critical: This is the stress at which the sandwich panel will fail in an
overall, complete panel, buckling mode. This failure stress will not be displayed if the
Transverse Shear Flexibility meets or exceeds the Critical Transverse Shear Flexibility.
- Core Shear Instability Critical: This failure can occur due to a panel which has face sheets
which are too stiff. Essentially the core material will fail in transverse shear. This failure
stress will not be displayed if the Transverse Shear Flexibility does not meet or exceed the
Critical Transverse Shear Flexibility.
- Critical Face Sheet Wrinkling Stress: This is the buckling stress required to cause
wrinkling of the face sheets i.e., face wrinkling type buckling. This form of buckling is only
applicable for sandwich panels with a honeycomb core.
- Critical Face Sheet Dimpling Stress: This is the buckling stress required to cause dimpling
of the face sheets, i.e., face dimpling type buckling. This form of buckling is only applicable
for sandwich panels with a honeycomb core.


Figure 7-8: Boundary Conditions for Sandwich Stability Analysis

8 Tube/Beam Module

Helius:CompositePros sixth drop-down menu provides analysis functions for composite tubes and
beams, including thin- and thick-walled pressure vessels.

Tube/Beam Defined
In Helius:CompositePro, a tube/beam is considered to be a laminated composite structural component
whose length L (dimension in the global X direction) is significantly longer than its other two dimensions,
and is anticipated to primarily support bending loads and longitudinal tension and compression loads.
The cross section of the laminated composite tube/beam can take various closed or open forms such as a
circle, ellipse, rectangular box, plate, I-beam, C-channel, etc.

Tube/Beam Analysis
The Tube/Beam Analysis module is accessed via the Tube/Beam drop-down menu which provides the
user with six different composite tube/beam analysis features: Bending, Torsion, Vibration, Column
Stability, Cylinder Stability, and Pressure Vessel. Below is a brief description of each of the six
composite tube/beam analysis features. A detailed description of these six analysis features and their use
is given in Sections 8.3 through 8.8.

1) Bending: The beam bending feature allows the user to perform a structural analysis (calculate
deflections, reaction forces, moments, bending/shear stresses, etc.) of a tube/beam in bending
using beam theory calculations. Cross-sections available for analysis include rectangles, plates,
circles, ellipses, channels and C/I/T/Hat sections. Loading applications include point loads,
uniform distributed loads, and triangular distributed loads. Various boundary conditions are
available that involve combinations of simple, free, and fixed end conditions.

2) Torsion: The torsion feature allows the user to perform a structural analysis (calculate torsional
stiffness, angle of twist, shear stresses, etc.) of a tube/beam in torsion using analytical algorithms.
Cross-sections available for analysis include rectangles, plates, circles, ellipses, channels, and
C/I/T/Hat sections.

3) Vibration: The vibration feature allows the user to perform a vibrational analysis (calculate
frequencies of various modes of vibration) of a tube/beam under a variety of end conditions and
masses. Cross-sections available for analysis include rectangles, plates, circles, ellipses,
channels, and C/I/T/Hat sections. Various boundary conditions are available that involve
combinations of simple, free, and fixed end conditions with and without end masses.

4) Cylinder Stability: The cylinder stability feature allows the user to perform a stability analysis
(calculate critical loading) of a cylinder under a variety of individual or combined loading
conditions (internal pressure, axial compression, bending, and torsion).

5) Column Stability: The column stability feature allows the user to perform a stability analysis
(calculate critical loads and stress) of a column. Cross-sections available for analysis include
rectangles, plates, circles, ellipses, channels, and C/I/T/Hat sections. Loading applications
include point loads and uniformly distributed loads. Various boundary conditions are available
that involve combinations of simple, free, and fixed end conditions.

6) Pressure Vessel: The pressure vessel feature allows the user to perform a structural analysis
(calculate stresses, strains, failure index, failure mode, etc.) on a circular cross section thin- or
thick-walled pressure vessel. A variety of individual or combined pressure and axial loading is
available. Open and closed end conditions are available along with multiple failure criterion for
calculating ply failure indices and failure modes (Max-Stress, Max-Strain, Tsai-Wu, Tsai-Hill,
Hashin, Christensen, and Puck).

Together, the Tube/Beam Analysis window has eight tabs. The first two are the Laminate tab and the
Tube Geometry tab. Once the laminate and the tube geometry are defined, the user may select from one of
the six analysis tabs to conduct their analysis. Upon selecting any one of these tabs, feature-specific
options will enable the user to define aspects of the selected analysiss execution. A detailed description
of these tabs is included in Sections 8.3 through 8.8.

There are a few key points to keep in mind when using Helius:CompositePro to perform a tube/beam
analysis:

- For beam cross sections that involve a collection of parts (such as an I-beam or a T-beam), each
of the individual parts of the beam's cross section is described by the smeared laminate properties
of the defined laminate in the Laminate tab. For example, the web and flanges of an I-beam are
each assumed to be composed of the laminate that is defined in the Laminate tab.

- For tubes (i.e., beams with closed cross sections), the first ply of the laminate lies on the inner
surface of the tube and the last ply of the laminate lies on the outer surface of the tube. In other
words, the laminate is built from the inner surface to the outer surface.

- Analyses of beams with tubular (closed) cross sections (rectangular, circle, ellipse, etc.) are valid
for any type of laminate; however, the analysis of beams with non-tubular cross sections is
restricted to using the smeared properties of the laminate defined by the user. Caution this may
result in incorrect results.

8.1 Laminate Tab
The Laminate tab is the first tab encountered in the Tube/Beam Analysis window and is shown in Figure
8-1. The Laminate tab allows the user to define the laminate that will be used for all parts of the beam
cross section. The Laminate tab is similar to the New Laminate window described earlier in Section 4.4.
From the Laminate tab, the laminate can be defined in either of two ways:

database can be read and imported into the Laminate tab. To view the list of available laminates
in the database, click the Open button on the Laminate tab. The user can select any laminate from
the list by double-clicking the name of the desired laminate, which prompts Helius:CompositePro
to read the material data file of the selected laminate and display the laminates data in the display
window of the laminate tab. The laminate data shown in the display window of the Laminate tab
includes the material type, thickness and fiber orientation angle for each of the material plies that
make up the laminate.

include all of the laminae available in the My Data material database when the Tube/Beam
Analysis window was opened. If a lamina was created while the Tube/Beam Analysis window is
open, the window will have to be closed and re-opened to register the new lamina.)

Figure 8-1: The Laminate tab, as seen in the Tube/Beam Bending window

8.2 Tube Geometry Tab
The Tube Geometry tab is used to define the cross section geometry of the tube/beam and is shown in
Figure 8-2.

Figure 8-2: The Tube Geometry tab, as seen in the Tube/Beam Bending window

As shown in Figure 8-2, there are seven regions that provide information about the geometric properties
of the tube/beam cross section:

1) A drop-down menu to select the desired cross-section for the analysis. Available geometries are
Rectangle, Plate, Circle, Ellipse, Channel, and C/I/T/Hat Sections. Note that for the Cylinder
Stability option calculator, only Circle cross-sections are available. A pictorial depiction of the
selected cross section is shown in the window above the drop-down. The dimensions required to
define the cross-section geometry and the approximate location of the neutral axis (NA) are
depicted in the drawing.
2) Text field to enter the radius (if applicable) of the cross-section.
3) Text field to enter the width (if applicable) of the cross-section.
4) Text field to enter the height (if applicable) of the cross-section.
5) Text field to enter the secondary width (if applicable) of the cross-section.
6) By clicking the View Section Properties button, the following cross-sectional properties (based
upon the cross-section, dimension(s), and laminate definition) are calculated and displayed:
- Thickness of composite laminate, t
- Area moment of inertia of tube/beam cross-section, I
- Beam stiffness (bending and shear), E
- Polar moment of inertia of tube/beam cross-section, J
- Modulus of Rigidity, G
- Radius of gyration, R
g

- Cross-sectional area, A
- Distance to extreme fiber from neutral axis, C

8.3 Tube/Beam Bending
To perform a bending analysis of a laminate tube or beam, the user selects the Bending tab from the
Tube/Beam Analysis window. All of the algorithms used in this form are taken from Roarks Formulas
for Stress and Strain (Ref. 11.1, pp. 100-104), and the limitations and assumptions listed herein apply
here. Once the Laminate and Tube Geometry have been defined, the user will complete the following six
steps in the Bending tab (Figure 8-3):

Figure 8-3: Tube Beam Bending Calculate Window

1) Boundary Conditions and Loading The analysis boundary conditions are selected from a
drop-down menu. There are four distinct boundary conditions available (Simple-Simple, Free-
Fixed, Fixed-Fixed, Simple-Fixed), all of which are subjected to three distinct loading conditions
(Point, Uniform Distributed, and Triangular Distributed). When the user selects an option, the
graphic for that option will be displayed in the window above the drop-down. The dimensions
and loading required to define the analysis are depicted in the drawing.

2) Stiffness Calculation Method Of particular interest on this form are the Stiffness Calculation
Method options. The two options apply to closed cross-sections only (rectangle, circle, and
ellipse).

- The Ply-By-Ply Tube option forces all bending analyses to be calculated on a ply-by-
ply basis through the thickness of the laminate. That is, the stiffness contribution for
each ply is modeled separately.
- The Laminate Tube option uses the structural (or smeared) properties of the entire
laminate in bending calculations. Whenever the user is analyzing a closed section beam
using the Laminate Tube option, turn the Coupling option under the Laminate tab to
Zero. This is critical to generating accurate results. For more information about creating
a laminate, see Section 4.4.

3) L Length Specify the overall length of the beam.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7


4) W- Load Specify the point load applied to the beam. Required input for point load type only.

5) x Location Specify the location on the beam at which the point load W is applied.
Required input for point load type only.

6) w Load/Unit Length Specify the distributed load on the beam. For triangular loads, the load
per unit length input w is the value of the distributed load at beam location b divided by the
entire beam length.

7) Calculate Once the input has been completed, the user computes the bending solution by
clicking on the Calculate button. The output box on the right side of the window shows the
results of the defined analysis. Depending upon the Boundary Conditions and Loading Type
selected, the output will vary:
- EI: This is the overall cross sectional stiffness of the beam.
- Reaction: Vertical forces or loads reacting to the vertical input load. Positive (+) is an
upward reaction.
- Rotation: For simply supported or free end conditions, the beam will rotate at end points
(a - left side of beam and b - right side of beam). Positive (+) rotation is counter-
clockwise.
- Moment: The reaction moments at a and b. Positive (+) moment is counter-
clockwise.
- MomentMax: This is the maximum moment induced in the cross-section. The location
of this moment is also displayed.
- (+)/(-) MomentMax: For Fixed-Fixed or Simple-Fixed boundary conditions, the beam
will exhibit a maximum (+) and (-) set of moments. This is the maximum moment
induced in the cross-section.
- StressMax: The maximum stress induced by the MomentMax in the outermost fiber of
the cross-section.
- (+)/(-) StressMax: For Fixed-Fixed or Simple-Fixed boundary conditions, the beam will
exhibit a maximum (+) and (-) set of stresses. This is the maximum stress induced by the
(+)/(-) MomentMax in the outermost fiber of the cross-section.
- StressOps: The maximum stress on the opposite side of the beam from the StressMax.
This is important in a composite beam because even though the stress magnitude opposite
the maximum stress may be less, beam failure may initiate here due to the lower
allowable in tension or compression.
- (+) or (-) StressOps: See explanation under (+)/(-) StressMax and StressOps above.
- DeflectMax: The maximum vertical deflection of the beam under the applied loads. The
location of this maximum deflection is displayed.
- Deflection: The vertical deflection of the beam under the applied load at the point of load
application. This is not necessarily the maximum deflection. The location of the
deflection is displayed.
Resulting beam stresses can now be compared to the allowable stresses for the laminate calculated under
First Ply Failure Survey or Progressive Failure options under the Laminate module.

8.4 Tube/Beam Torsion
To perform a torsion analysis of a laminate tube or beam, the user selects the Torsion tab from the
Tube/Beam Analysis window (Figure 8-4). Torsional results are calculated for a beam which is fixed on
one end and is free to rotate but not warp on the other end. Open cross-section beams are assumed to be
thin walled and will deflect much more than closed section beams. All of the algorithms used in this
form are taken from Roarks Formulas for Stress and Strain (Ref. 11.1, pp. 345-389, Table 22 Ref. No.
1d.), and the limitations and assumptions listed therein apply here.

Figure 8-4: Tube/Beam Torsion Calculate Window

Once the Laminate and Tube Geometry have been defined, the user will complete the following steps in
the Torsion tab:

1) Boundary Conditions and Loading A pictorial depiction of the boundary conditions and
loading is shown in the window. The dimensions and loading required to define the analysis are
depicted in the drawing.

Method options. These options apply to closed cross-sections only (rectangle, circle, and
ellipse).


4) T Torque Specify the torsional load applied at the free end of the beam.

5) Calculate Once the input has been completed, the user computes the torsion solution by
clicking on the Calculate button. The output box on the bottom of the window shows the results
of the defined analysis:

- CS Area: This is the cross-sectional area of the beam.
- Stiffness GJ: The equivalent torsional stiffness of the beam cross-section.
- Angle of Twist: The amount of twist in the beam over the defined length.
- Avg. Shear Stress: The average shear stress in the beam cross-section. (For closed cross-
section tubes.
- Max Bend Stress Due to Warp: The maximum bending stress on the beam due to
warping. (For open ended cross-sections)
- Max Warping Rigidity Shear Stress: Warping rigidity shear stress in the beam due to
warping. (For open ended cross-sections)
- Max Torsional Rigidity Shear Stress: Torsional rigidity shear stress in the beam. (For
open ended cross-sections)

Once the user has calculated the average beam stresses, they can now compare them to the allowable
stresses for the laminate calculated under First Ply Failure Survey or Progressive Failure options under
the Laminate module.

8.5 Tube/Beam Vibration
Selecting the Vibration tab in the Tube/Beam Analysis window will result in the display seen in Figure
8-5. The vibrations calculated in this option are lateral fundamental vibrations of the beam. The
algorithms used in this analysis are taken from Vibration Analysis (Ref. 11.2) and the Shock and
Vibration Handbook (Ref. 11.3), and the limitations and assumptions listed therein apply here.

Figure 8-5: Tube/Beam Vibration Calculate Window

the Vibration tab:

1) Boundary Conditions The analysis boundary conditions are selected from a drop-down menu.
There are eight distinct boundary conditions available (Fixed-Free, Free-Simple, Fixed-Fixed,
Free-Free, Simple-Free, Simple-Simple, Bending Fixed-Free with End Mass, and Torsion Fixed-
Free with End Mass). The first six options use the formulation given in the Shock and Vibration
Handbook (Ref. 11.3) and is shown in Equation (8.1).

e
n
= A
EI
L
4
(8.1)
The frequency of vibration shown here is based upon the stiffness (EI), the beam length (L), the
mass of the beam per unit length (), and a constant (A) which determines the mode of vibration.
The last two options, Bending w/ End Mass and Torsion w/ End Mass, are based upon algorithms
from Vibration Analysis (Ref. 11.2 pp. 27-37).

When the user selects an option, the graphic for that option will be displayed in the window
above the drop-down. The dimensions and loading required to define the analysis are depicted in
the drawing.


ellipse).


4) End Weight Specify the weight of the mass on the end of the beam.

5) Weight Moment of Inertia When using the Torsion with End Mass option, the user will have
to input a calculated I (weight moment of inertia) based upon the geometry of the end mass.

6) Calculate Once the input has been completed, the user computes the vibration analysis by
clicking on the Calculate button. The output box on the right side of the window shows the
results of the defined analysis. The first three modes of lateral vibration are calculated and
displayed. Each mode is conveniently presented in three units of measure: Hertz, radians/second
and seconds/cycle. When the Bending w/ End Mass and Torsion w/ End Mass options are
selected, the output is for the first fundamental mode of vibration only.

8.6 Tube/Beam Cylinder Stability
Selecting the Cylinder Stability tab in the Tube/Beam Analysis window will result in the display seen in
Figure 8-6. The basis of calculation for the various loadings is derived from NASA SP-8007 (Ref. 11.4).
In addition, the interpretation of NASA SP-8007 found in The Behavior of Structures Composed of
Composite Materials was referenced (Ref. 9.1, pp. 161-169).

Figure 8-6: Tube/Beam Cylinder Stability Calculate Window

the Cylinder Stability tab:

1) Load Type Applied The analysis load type is selected from a drop-down menu. A pictorial
depiction of the selected load type is displayed. The dimensions and loading required to define
the analysis is depicted in the drawing.

There are four basic load types available (Axial Compression, Bending, External Pressure, and
Torsion). There are also three combined load types available (Axial Compression + Bending,
Axial Compression + External Pressure, and Axial Compression + Torsion).

The following limitations exist for the following basic load types:

- Axial Compression: Must be a balanced symmetric layup.

- Bending: Must be a balanced symmetric layup.

- Torsion: Must be a symmetric layup ([B] = [0])

Once the user has created a layup and prior to running the Cylinder Stability analysis, it is
recommended that they examine the [A], [B], and [D] matrices to see if the limitations are
satisfied. They can check the [A], [B], and [D] matrices by executing the [ABD], [ABD] Inverse
option under the Laminate module.

2) Axial Compression Layup Type If the laminate the user defines is used for an axial
compression load scenario, the option exists to select either Special, Mid Plane Symmetry [B] =
0 to specify that a symmetric laminate is used or General, No Mid Plane Symmetry to specify
that an unsymmetric laminate is used. If an unsymmetric laminate is used, the user has the option
of specifying a Knock Down Factor in the bottom field (#8).

3) Length Specify the overall length of the cylinder

4) Max. Longitudinal Buckle Half Waves (m) - (Integer input) When buckling occurs in a
cylinder in the longitudinal (axial) direction, it is accompanied by a number of perturbations or
waves. The key to the analysis is to determine how many of these waves there are when a
minimum buckling load is reached. For each integer value of m a unique buckling load is
calculated. Helius:CompositePro will begin with an (m=1) and will check for the minimum
buckling load up to (m=Max. Longitudinal Buckle Half Waves). The default value is 50.

5) Max. Circumferential Buckle Waves (n): See instructions for (4), but this is specified for the
circumferential direction.

6) Compression Load (Positive (+) Number) Specify the applied axial compression load on the
cylinder.

7) Torsional Load (Positive (+) Number) Specify the applied torque on the cylinder.

8) Knock Down Factor: - If General, No Mid Plane Symmetry is chosen under (2) indicating that
a unsymmetric laminate is being used in the analysis, the user has the option of specifying a
Knock Down Factor (also known as correction factor) to correlate experimental data with
theory.

9) Calculate Once the input has been completed, the user computes the cylinder stability analysis
by clicking on the Calculate button. The output box on the right side of the window shows the
results of the defined analysis. Each calculated result is preceded by the necessary assumptions
for the results to be valid. The user should consider these whenever running a cylindrical
buckling analysis. The following calculated results are displayed:

- Critical Compression Load: (units of force) The load at which the cylinder will buckle
under an axial compression load.
- Critical Bending Load: (units of force) The moment per total end area of the cylinder at
which the cylinder will fail, independent of other loads.
- Critical Bending Moment: (units of force x distance) The moment at which the cylinder
will buckle, independent of other loads.
- Crit. Lateral Ext. Pressure: (units of force per area squared) The lateral external pressure
at which the cylinder will buckle, independent of other loads.

- Crit. Hydrostatic Ext. Pressure: (units of force per area squared) The hydrostatic
external pressure at which the cylinder will buckle, independent of other loads.

- Crit. Lateral Ext. Pressure for Long Cylinder: (units of force per area squared) The
external pressure at which the cylinder will buckle, independent of other loads.
- Critical Torque: (units of force x distance) The torque at which the cylinder will buckle,
independent of other loads.
- CTcr: This is a calculated factor which depends upon the stiffness and geometry of the
cylinder. This factor must be greater than (>) or equal to (=) 500 for English units or
12.7 for SI units.
- n: The circumferential wave which gives the minimum critical buckling value.
- m: The axial half wave which gives the minimum critical buckling value.
- Simultaneous m & n: For the Axial Load + Bending Load Type, the buckling waves
must match. This forces m and n to be evaluated simultaneously or at the same
values for both axial compression and bending.
- Rc: Unitless compression load ratio (applied load/calculated critical load)
- Rb: Unitless bending load ratio (applied load/calculated critical load)
- Rlp: Unitless lateral pressure load ratio (applied load/calculated critical load)
- Rhp: Unitless hydrostatic pressure load ratio (applied load/calculated critical load)
- Rt: Unitless torsion load ratio (applied load/calculated critical load)

8.7 Tube/Beam Column Stability
Selecting the Column Stability tab in the Tube/Beam Analysis window will result in the display seen in
Figure 8-7. The basis of the calculations performed for this option is Euler column buckling for long
columns, as defined in the Aerospace Design Engineers Guide (Ref. 11.5).

Figure 8-7: Column Stability Calculate Tab

the Column Stability tab:

1) Column Load/Boundary Condition The analysis load type is selected from a drop-down
menu. A pictorial depiction of the selected load type is displayed. The dimensions and loading
required to define the analysis is depicted in the drawing.

There are two basic load types available (Point and Distributed). There are four boundary
condition types available (Simple-Simple, Fixed-Fixed, Fixed-Simple, and Fixed-Free) that have
two load types each for a total of eight possible load/boundary condition types.

ellipse). The Ply-By-Ply Tube option forces all bending analyses to be calculated on a ply-by-
ply basis through the thickness of the laminate. That is, the stiffness contribution for each ply is
modeled separately. The Laminate Tube option uses the structural (or smeared) properties of
the entire laminate in bending calculations. Whenever the user is analyzing a closed section beam
using the Laminate Tube option, turn the Coupling option under the Laminate tab to Zero.
This is critical to generating accurate results. For more information about creating a laminate, see
Section 4.4.

3) Length Specify the overall length of the column.

4) Calculate Once the input has been completed, the user computes the column stability analysis
by clicking on the Calculate button. The output box on the right side of the window shows the
results of the defined analysis. For columns which have a cross-section with different area
moment of inertias about different axes, the lowest I value is used in the calculation.

Results displayed include:

- Critical Load: (units of force) The compressive load on the column at which the column
will buckle. Equation (8.2) shows the Critical Load Euler equation, where P is the
Euler buckling load, C is a constant, EI is the beam bending stiffness, and L is the
beam length.

P =
Ct
2
EI
L
2 (8.2)

Equation (8.3) shows the Euler equation for columns under distributed loads, where p
is a uniformly distributed load over a lower portion of the column length and a is the
length in which the distributed load is acting over from the bottom of the column.

2
2
L
EI C
(pa) = (8.3)

- Critical Stress: (units of force per area squared) The compressive stress on the column at
which the column will buckle. Equation (8.4) shows the Critical Stress equation, where
is the critical stress, C is a constant, E
x
is the Youngs modulus of the composite,
L is the beam length, and is the radius of gyration of the beam cross-section.

o =
Ct
2
E
x
(L/)
2
(8.4)

8.8 Tube/Beam Pressure Vessel
Selecting the Pressure Vessel tab in the Tube/Beam Analysis window will result in the display seen in
Figure 8-8.

Figure 8-8: Thin Wall Pressure Vessel Calculate Tab

the Pressure Vessel tab.

1) Wall Thickness: Choose thin wall or thick wall formulation. Typically, wall thicknesses that are
less than one-tenth of the vessel radius adhere well to the thin wall pressure vessel assumptions.
Otherwise, thick wall pressure vessel calculations are recommended. See Fronk et. al. (Ref 41)
for information on the thick wall pressure vessel approach.

2) Vessel Type: A closed end or open end pressure vessel can be selected.

3) Internal Pressure: The internal pressure of the pressure vessel.

4) External Pressure: The external pressure applied to the pressure vessel. This is only valid for
thick wall pressure vessel analysis.

5) Axial Load: The tensile or compressive axial load applied in the lengthwise direction on the
pressure vessel.

6) Torque: A torsional load applied about the axis parallel to the length of the vessel. This is only
valid for thick wall pressure vessel analysis.


7) Temperature Change: A uniform temperature change to apply to the pressure vessel. This is
only valid for thick wall pressure vessel analysis.

8) Select Failure Criterion: There are seven failure criteria to select from that allow a Failure
Index and Failure Mode to be calculated (See Section 5.7 Failure Criteria).

9) Calculate: Creates a tabular output format that lists the radius, change in radius, axial/theta
(hoop)/shear strain, axial/theta (hoop)/shear stress, failure index, and failure mode of the bottom,
middle, and top section points of each ply in the laminate specified.

10) Tabulate: Allows the user to view the results in a tabular output format.

11) Export: After the thin wall pressure vessel results are computed and displayed, the Export button
can be clicked to write the results to a *.csv file that is compatible with Microsoft Excel.

12) Plot Values: Gives users the option to plot the hoop, axial, or shear stresses and strains.

13) Plot Stress/Strain: Provides a graphical representation of the Hoop/Axial/Shear stress or strain.
Additionally, for thick wall pressure vessels, the Radial stress and strain is available for tabulating
and plotting. For information on how to use the plotting options after selecting Plot Stress or
Plot Strain, please refer to the ChartFX documentation available online.

9 Utilities Module

The Utilities module in Helius:CompositePro has a number of general utilities which are useful for
composite structural design. There are 9 options the user can select from under the Utilities module:

1) Utilities Vf Wf Converter: Calculates lamina Fiber/Matrix Weight % from Fiber/Matrix
Volume % or vice versa.

2) Utilities Winding Calculator: Designed to model filament wound lay-ups in
Helius:CompositePro, this utility is used to automatically calculate individual ply thicknesses for
a filament wound composites. Calculated ply thicknesses can then be used to simplify the input
for the Laminate form (Section 4.4).

3) Utilities Fabric Thickness: This utility calculates the thickness of a single ply based on fiber
volume fraction/areal weight, and void volume.

4) Utilities Roving Converter: This utility calculates cross-sectional areas, the yield, denier,
lineal density, Tex, and deciTex for a roving process.

5) Utilities Radius of Curvature: This utility calculates the radius of curvature and the inverse
radius of curvature of a laminate due to thermal or moisture load.

6) Utilities Laminate Survey: Calculate the elastic properties and strengths of laminates that are
composed of various percentages of 0 plies, 90 plies and 45 plies of a specified lamina
material.

7) Utilities Fabric Builder: This utility is used to help the user model lamina and laminates
representing various random, woven, and stitched fabrics.

8) Utilities Optimize Lamina for MCT: This utility is used to optimize lamina fiber and matrix
properties so the MCT failure criteria can be run on the lamina.

9) Utilities Export Material: This utility allows the user to export lamina and laminates for use
in various finite element analysis (FEA) applications.

9.1 Utilities Vf Wf Converter
Selecting Vf Wf Converter under the Utilities module will result in the display seen in Figure 9-1.
This utility calculates lamina Fiber/Matrix Weight % from Fiber/Matrix Volume % or vice versa.

Figure 9-1: Vf Wf Converter Window

The Vf Wf Converter is simple to use and requires two steps:

1) Material Selection - Select a Fiber and Matrix type from the appropriate dropdown boxes.

2) Volume/Weight % - Adjust the appropriate percentage box based on what is known and the
converter will calculate the other three percentage boxes automatically.

Note:
- After adjusting a percentage within one of the four boxes, the user must signify to the
calculator that the entry is complete by clicking in another input field or by selecting the
calculate button.
- Conversions used in this form are based upon the fiber and matrix densities.

9.2 Utilities Winding Calculator
Selecting Winding Calculator under the Utilities module will result in the display seen in
Figure 9-2. Designed to model filament wound lay-ups in Helius:CompositePro, this utility is used to
automatically calculate individual ply thicknesses for a filament wound composites. Calculated ply
thicknesses can then be used to simplify the input for the Laminate form (Section 4.4).

Figure 9-2: Filament Winding Layup Calculator

In
Figure 9-2 window, there are thirteen fields that are used to define the specifics of the filament winding
process to be analyzed:

1) Fiber Type: This window displays the fiber type which will be used when adding a new layer
(ply) to the layup. The fiber types listed in this window are the same fibers located in the data file
tree within the Fibers branch. This also sets the fibers end area (total cross sectional area a tow of
fibers contributes to a layer thickness) used in the winding calculation.

2) Equivalent Mandrel Outer Diameter: Specifies the diameter of the mandrel on which the
winding will be performed. For non-circular cross sections, the mandrels diameter is determined
by taking the perimeter length divided by .

3) Layer Build Options: The Add Layer, Symmetric, and Repeat buttons are used to build the
filament winding layup (See Section 4.4 Creating a New Laminate for help). A filament-winding
layer usually consists of a angle. Filaments winding inherently deposits a + and a onto the
mandrel. This occurs when the fiber delivery head travels back and forth across the mandrel as it
rotates.

4) Total Calculated Layup Thickness: This is the total thickness of all the wound layers added
together.

5) Winding Ply Layers: The ply layers are added here. The columns of data are defined as follows:

Fiber Type: Column displaying the fiber type for the designed layer or ply.
1
2
3
4
5
6 7 8


+/-Deg: The winding angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel. The calculator
will assume a winding layer (e.g. input 20 and the calculator assumes a 20 layer). Input
angles can be between -90 and 90 only.

- Angles usually range from 5 to around 85 relative to the longitudinal axis of the
mandrel. These angles are referred to as helical angles.

- When a fiber is wound around the mandrels circumference while slowly advancing
down the length of the mandrel the winding is called a hoop layer. This layer is
wound very close to 90 relative to the axis of the mandrel. A hoop layer is usually
wound onto the mandrel in only one pass from one end of the mandrel to the other.

- Input angles of 90 will result in unrealistic thicknesses. Therefore hoop angles for
winding can be determined by:

) nce Circumfere Bandwidth/ ( cos
1

%Vf: The fiber volume percentage for a given layer. This value must be input as a
percentage not as a decimal (i.e. 60 not 0.60).

# Tows: Number of tows being wound onto the mandrel for each layer. A tow is defined as
one yarn or roving of a fiber; for example, one tow of 12,000 filaments of graphite. Usually
more than one tow of fiber is wound at a time. This collection of tows makes up a flattened
winding ribbon called the winding band.

# Circ: The total number of winding circuits in a layer. A winding circuit is one traverse of
the winding head from one end of the mandrel and back again. A hoop winding around the
mandrel will cover the mandrel in 0.5 winding circuits.

- Always input 0.5 circuits for hoop layers.

%Vv: The void volume percentage. The layer thickness will be increased by this percentage
if a value greater than zero is input here. This value must be between 0% - 30% and input as
a percentage not as a decimal (i.e. 10 not 0.10).

BW (in.): The total bandwidth of the winding band (includes all tows in a band). This
usually needs to be measured on the mandrel as the band is being wound.

- The bandwidth entered here does not have any effect on the layer thickness. It is
only used to calculate the percent of band overlap.

%LaP: The percentage of band overlap +% or band gap -% relative to the overall
circumference for a given layer.

Thick (in): The total layer thickness.

6) Calculate: Once the input has been completed, the user completes the analysis by clicking on the
Calculate button. . The output boxes will shows the results of the defined analysis. The
following calculated results are displayed:

- % LAP: The percentage of band overlap +% or band gap -% relative to the overall
circumference for a given layer (e.g. 84% means that the bands overlap 84% of the
bandwidth when resolved into the circumferential direction).

- The % LAP must fall between 100% and -100%. If this is not the case
Helius:CompositePro will display a Data Entry Problem warning. Use the
suggestions listed in the warning for fix the problem.

- Thickness: Based upon the input, this is the total layer thickness.
.
- Total Calculated Layup Thickness: This is the total thickness of all the wound layers
added together.

7) Export: The user can also print the tabulated Failure Envelope results to a *.csv file that is
compatible with Microsoft Excel by clicking the Export button.

8) Create Template: This option will allow the user to save the calculated winding layup as a
template in the Thickness/Angle Template branch of the data file tree.

9.3 Utilities Fabric Thickness Calculator
Selecting Fabric Thickness under the Utilities module will result in the display seen in Figure 9-3. This
utility calculates the thickness of a single ply based on fiber volume fraction/areal weight, and void
volume.

Figure 9-3: Fabric Thickness Calculator

There are four fields that are used to define the specifics of the fabric thickness analysis:

1) Fiber Type: Select the fiber type. The fiber types listed in this dropdown box are the same fibers
located in the data file tree within the fibers branch.

2) Fiber Volume %: Specify the fiber volume percentage for the layer. This value must be input as
a percentage.

3) Input Areal Weight: The areal weight of the fiber (units of mass per unit area). This can be
found on most fiber material datasheets.

4) Void Volume %: Specify the void volume percentage. The layer thickness will be increased by
this percentage if a value greater than zero is input here. This value must be input as a
percentage.

5) Calculate: Once the input has been completed, click on Calculate to determine the result. The
total calculated layer thickness will be reported in the Layer Thickness box.

9.4 Roving Converter
Selecting Roving Converter under the Utilities module will result in the display seen in Figure 9-4. The
Roving Converter calculates the cross-sectional areas, yield, denier, lineal density, Tex and deciTex for a
roving process.

Figure 9-4: Roving Converter

As shown in Figure 9-4, there are 3 input fields for the roving conversion process. The converter will
then calculate the results and populate the remaining fields. This is done in three steps as follows:

1) Fiber Type: The fiber type is selected from a drop-down menu. The fibers listed in this
dropdown box are the same fibers located in the data file tree within the fibers branch. The
associated fiber density is used in the converter depending on what fiber is chosen.

2) Input: There are eight options the user has to choose from in the Input dropdown box.
1. Cross Sectional Area (in
2
)
2. Cross Sectional Area (mm
2
)
3. Yield (yd/lb)
4. Yield (m/kg)
5. Denier (g/9000m)
6. Lineal Density (g/m)
7. Tex (g/1000m)
8. dTex (deciTex)

Once an input option is selected, the user must then define the appropriate numerical input in the
field to the right.

3) Calculate Once the input fields have been completed, click on Calculate to determine the results.
The remaining fields will be populated as follows:

- Cross Sectional Area (units: in
2
, mm
2
): Defines the cross sectional area of a narrow bundle
of fibers.Yield (units: yd/lb, m/kg). The yield describes the length a bundle of fibers will
reach per unit mass of the material.

- Denier (units: g/9000m): The denier is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of
fibers.

- Lineal Density (units: g/m):. The lineal density is a measure of mass per unit length for
fibers.

- Tex (g/1000m): The tex is a unit of measure for the linear mass density of fibers.

- deciTex: The deciTex is a unit of linear density equal to 1/10
th
of a tex or 9/10
ths
of a denier.

9.5 Utilities Radius of Curvature Calculator
Selecting Radius of Curvature under the Utilities module will result in the display seen in Figure 9-5.
This utility calculates the radius of curvature and the inverse radius of curvature of a laminate due to
thermal or moisture load.

Figure 9-5: Radius of Curvature Calculator

There are two tabs included in the Radius of Curvature window:

1) Laminate: The Laminate tab allows the user to define the laminate that will be used in the
calculator. the laminate can be defined in either of two ways:

1. Use an existing Laminate Any laminate that is stored in the Helius:CompositePro
material database can be read and loaded into the Laminate tab. To view the list of
available laminates in the database, click the Open button under the Laminate tab. The
user can select any laminate from the list by double-clicking the name of the desired
laminate, which prompts Helius:CompositePro to read the material data file of the
selected laminate and display the laminates data in the display window of the
Laminate tab. The laminate data shown in the display window of the Laminate tab
includes the material type, thickness and fiber orientation angle for each of the material
plies that make up the laminate.

2. Create a new Laminate Instead of using a laminate that is stored in the
Helius:CompositePro material database, the user can build a new laminate in the
Laminate tab using the same procedure described in Section 4.4. After defining the
material and geometric data for the new laminate, the user should give the laminate a
name (in the Laminate Name box) and press the Save button to store the new laminate
in the Helius:CompositePro material database before attempting to perform any
analysis on the laminate. (Note, the Lamina dropdown will menu will include all of the
laminae available in the My Data material database when the Plate Analysis window

was opened. If a lamina was created while the Plate Analysis window is open, the
window will have to be closed and re-opened to register the new lamina. )

2) Calculate: Selecting the Calculate tab in the Radius of Curvature window will result in the
display seen in Figure 9-6.

Figure 9-6: Radius of Curvature Calculate Tab

There are two loading input types available: change in temperature (Delta Temperature) and
change in moisture percentage (Delta Moisture).

Once the input has been completed, click on Calculate. The following calculated results
are displayed:

- Radius of Curvature Radius of curvature in the X, Y, and XY-direction due to
loading.

- Curvature The out-of-plane curvature of the laminate in the X,Y, and XY-
direction due to moisture or thermal loading.

9.6 Utilities Laminate Survey
The laminate survey utility is used to give the user insight on how laminate properties will change with
different laminate layups. It calculates the laminate properties Ex, Ey, Gxy, NUxy, +Sx, -Sx, +Sy, -Sy,
and Sxy based on a selected failure criterion and user defined layup angles. Selecting Laminate Survey
under the Utilities module will result in the display seen in Figure 9-7.

Figure 9-7: Laminate Survey Window

There are five steps in conducting a laminate survey:

1) Select the lamina type - The lamina types listed in this dropdown box are the same lamina
located in the file tree within the laminas branch. Caution when using isotropic materials in
laminate survey with Hashin, Puck, and Christensen failure criterion. Failure modes and failure
calculations may be invalid.

2) Specify Lamina or Ply layup angles - Laminate Survey always analyzes a twelve ply balanced
symmetric laminate using these angles. (e.g. the laminate layup is [+0/-0/+90/-90/+45/-45]
s
for
the default angles given in Figure 9-7). Note: Angles must be input as positive angles between 0
and 90 degrees.

3) Specify Percent Thickness Increment - The laminate thickness is the sum of all twelve plies.
There are four plies that correspond with each angle specified in (2) and the sum of their
thicknesses together will account for a percentage of the total laminate thickness. This option
changes the percentage that the four corresponding plies comprise of the total laminate thickness
by the selected increment.

4) Select Failure Criterion There are seven failure criteria to select from. Laminate survey uses
these criteria to calculate laminate strengths. Laminate strengths will depend on which failure
criterion is selected. (See Appendix C for details on available failure criteria.)

5) Calculate Results - Once the input has been completed, click on Calculate. The output
window (shown in Figure 9-8) will show the results of the analysis.


Figure 9-8: Laminate Survey Results Window

The calculated results displayed in Figure 9-8 include:

- Layup: This defines the layup number. If a percentage increment of 10% is used there will
be 66 different layups examined. If 5% increments are used there will be 232 layups
examined.
- % 0: The numbers within this column describe how much the four plies containing Angle
1 make up of the overall percentage of the laminate thickness.
- Ex, Ey, Gxy: Laminate material stiffnesss Axial Youngs modulus, Transverse Youngs
Modulus, and Shear Modulus, respectively.
- Sx, Sy, Sxy: Laminate material strengths Axial Tensile/Compressive strength, Transverse
Tensile/Compressive strength, and Shear strength, respectively.

9.7 Fabric Builder
The fabric builder utility is used to model various types of fabric composites using unidirectional
composites. There are three different broadgood-type materials that fabric builder models. These
material types are Random Continuous Mat, Woven Fabric, and Stitched Fabric. To start building a
fabric, select Fabric Builder under the Utilities menu. This will display the window shown in Figure 9-9.

Figure 9-9: Fabric Builder fabric type selection

In this first window, the user can select one of three fabric types:

1) Random Continuous Mat - Randomly oriented chopped fibers. (See Figure 9-10)
2) Woven Fabric - Tows / bundles of fibers are woven together in a repeating pattern. (See Figure
9-18)
3) Stitched Fabric - Layers of unidirectional composites are stitched together. (See Figure 9-21)
Procedure steps for each of these fabric types will be described in Examples 1-3 below.

Example1: Random Continuous Mat The next steps will be described using option 1 as an example.

Figure 9-10: Example of a random continuous mat layup

Choosing Random Continuous Mat and selecting Next will results in the Page 2 display seen in Figure
9-11.

Figure 9-11: Fabric Builder random mat page 2: Micromechanics

Page two allows the user to build lamina properties of a random continuous mat from micromechanics.
As shown in Figure 9-11, there are 5 fields in page two that provide information for calculating a random
mats lamina properties from micromechanics:

1) Fiber Type - Micromechanics will use the selected fiber material properties in its calculations.
The fiber types listed in this dropdown box are the same fibers located in the data file tree within
the fibers branch.

2) Resin Type - Micromechanics will use the selected resin material properties in its calculations.
The resin types listed in this dropdown box are the same resins located in the data file tree within
the matrices branch.

3) Areal Weight - Used to enter the areal weight of the fiber (units of mass per unit area). This can
be found on most fiber material datasheets.

4) Fiber Weight % - Specify the fiber weight percentage.

5) Void Volume % -Specify the void volume percentage. The layer thickness will be increased by
this percentage if a value greater than zero is input here. This value must be between 0% - 30%
and input as a percentage not as a decimal (i.e. 10 not 0.10).

Once all 5 fields have been fill out the user can select Next to advance to page three (Figure 9-12).


Figure 9-12: Fabric Builder random mat page 3: Create fabric

The third page in creating a random continuous mat displays: 1) the calculated fabric (ply) thickness and
2) the method in which Helius:CompositePro will creating the fabric lamina. There are two options the
user can select for creating the fabric lamina.
- Micromechanics: Helius:CompositePro will calculate the lamina properties from the 5 input
fields defined by the user on page 2 (Figure 9-11). If Micromechanics is selected, then the user
will see display shown in Figure 9-14.

- Selected Lamina: Allows the user to select a predefined lamina and its properties. Note: The
inputs defined by the user in Figure 9-11 will be neglected if the user selects this option. If
Selected Lamina is selected, then the user will see the display shown in Figure 9-13. Once a
lamina has been selected the user can click Next to display the window seen in Figure 9-14.

Figure 9-13: Fabric Builder random mat page 3A: Lamina Selection


Figure 9-14: Fabric Builder random mat page 4: Failure Strength Criteria

There are 3 failure criteria options including Max Stress, Max Strain, and Tsai-Hill that the user can select
in Page 4 (shown in Figure 9-14). The selected failure criteria will be used to run a progressive failure
survey on a laminate representing a random continuous mat. Strength of the representative laminate is
calculated using the selected failure criteria. Each lamina in the representative laminate is built either by
the calculated properties from micromechanics (Figure 9-11) or by the selected lamina (Figure 9-13).
Selecting a failure criterion and clicking Next will result in the display seen in Figure 9-15.

Figure 9-15: Fabric Builder random mat page 5: Fabric Strengths

Page 5 (Figure 9-15) is the first of five pages where fabric builder allows the user to select which failure
of the laminate progressive failure should be assigned to your fabric definition. In order to select a ply
row, the user must click on the row header (empty box to the left of the ply #). The axial tensile strengths
calculated for laminate can be seen in Figure 9-15. Here the first row in the table represents the first ply
of the laminate which will fail. This first ply failure, however, may not represent the ultimate failure of
the fabric. Ultimate failure is displayed as either a FIBER TENSION or FIBER COMPRESSION failure,
or as the failure preceding the second failure of a given PLY # in the table. However the most
conservative option would be to choose the stress at which the first ply in the laminate fails. (i.e. The
failure strength of ply #4 would be the most conservative for the case seen in Figure 9-15.

Pages 5-9 in the random continuous mat form allow the user to select the five in plane strengths for the
fabric. The five laminate strengths to select are the X-Tension Strength, X-Compression Strength, Y-
Tension Strength, Y-Compression Strength, and XY-Shear Strength. You may also want to use the
PLOT buttons on these pages to visualize the progressive failures to help you make your selection.

Once all fabric strengths have been selected the user can click Next on Page 9, bringing up Page 10 as
seen in Figure 9-16.

Figure 9-16: Fabric Builder random mat page 10: Fabric Name

Page 10 (Figure 9-16) is used to name the fabric laminate created by Helius:CompositePro. Once the
name has been supplied, the user can click Next, bringing up Page 11 as seen in Figure 9-17.


Figure 9-17: Fabric Builder random mat page 11: Create Laminate

In Page 11 (Figure 9-17), there are 2 options provided to the user:

1) Append to Existing Laminate: The user can append the fabric lamina created by Fabric Builder
to a predefined laminate. A single ply with the properties calculated for a random continuous mat
will be appended to the selected preexisting laminate. Fabric Builder also saves a lamina in
material data file with the properties defined within the random continuous mat form with the
user defined name from Figure 9-16.

2) Save Lamina: This option simply saves a lamina in the material data file with the properties
defined within the random continuous mat form with the user defined name from Figure 9-16.

Selecting Finish will close Fabric Builder.

Example 2: Woven Fabric The next steps will be described using option 2 (Figure 9-9) as an example.

Figure 9-18: Example of a woven fabric layup

Choosing Woven Fabric in Page 2 (Figure 9-9) and selecting Next will results in the Page 3 display seen
in Figure 9-19.

Figure 9-19

Figure 9-19: Fabric Builder woven fabric page 2: Fabric Orientation

Page 3 allows the user to select from four different layup types. The layup types listed in Figure 9-19
represent one half of a symmetric laminate that is used to find the properties of the woven fabric.
Selecting a fabric orientation and clicking next will result in the following display seen in Figure 9-20.


Figure 9-20: Fabric Builder woven fabric page 3: Fiber Volume %

In Page 3 for Woven Fabrics (Figure 9-20), the user will be asked to fill out several different sets of
options depending on which fiber orientation is selected from Page 2 (Figure 9-19). These options are:

1) %Fiber (0 deg. weft): The user must input the % of the fibers which are aligned in the 0 degree
or weft direction of the fabric (Figure 9-18). This option will appear if the user selects the 0/90
Plain Weave or +60/-60/0 Triaxial for the fiber orientation.

2) %Fiber (90 deg. warp): The user must input the % of the fibers which are aligned in the 90
degree or warp direction of the fabric (Figure 9-18). This option will appear if the user selects the
0/90 Plain Weave or +30/-30/90 Triaxial for the fiber orientation.

3) %Fiber (30 deg. Bias): The user must input the % of the fibers which are aligned in the 30
degree direction of the fabric. This option will appear if the user selects +30/-30/90 Triaxial for
the fiber orientation.

4) %Fiber (60 deg. Bias): The user must input the % of the fibers which are aligned in the 60
degree direction of the fabric. This option will appear if the user selects +60/-60/0 Triaxial for
the fiber orientation.

5) % Total: Displays the total fiber percentage within the fabric. This value must equal 100%
before advancing to the next page.

Advancing to Page 4 will result in the display seen in Figure 9-11. At this point Fabric Builder follows
the same steps as are described for the Random Continuous Mat. Please refer to Figure 9-11 through
Figure 9-17.

Example 3: Stitched Fabric - The next steps will be described using option 3 (Figure 9-9) as an
example.


Figure 9-21: Example of a stitched fabric layup

Choosing Stitched Fabric in Figure 9-9 and selecting Next will results in the Page 2 display seen in
Figure 9-22. This page allows the user to select from an array of layup types including unidirectional,
biaxial, double-bias triaxial, and quadraxial. There are two things to note on this page:

1) The stitched layups seen in Figure 9-22 are not symmetric.

2) The (%/%) in each layup define the percent fiber for each angle in the layup.

Figure 9-22: Fabric Builder stitched fabric page 2: Fabric Orientation

Once the user selects a layup type they will be brought to the micromechanics page as seen in Figure
9-12. At this point Fabric, Builder will follow similar steps as are described for the Random Continuous
Mat. Please refer to Please refer to Figure 9-11 through Figure 9-17.

9.8 Optimize Lamina for MCT
In order to use a lamina with the MCT failure criterion in Helius:CompositePro, that lamina must have
associated fiber and matrix materials. These constituent material properties must be consistent with the
composite properties. The Optimize Lamina for MCT tool can calculate these constituent properties
based off of an existing lamina. This calculation uses the same micromechanical model as used in New
Lamina from Micromechanics. The difference is that the fiber and matrix properties are not known and
the composite properties are. This tool will take the user's best initial guess at the fiber and matrix
properties and iterate upon them until they yield the desired composite properties.

To optimize and existing lamina, choose Optimize a Lamina for MCT under the Utilities menu. This
will open the window shown in Figure 9-9.

Figure 9-23: Optimize Lamina for MCT Window

In this window, there are six fields the user can modify prior to running the optimization step:

1) Choose Material to Optimize Here, the user selects from dropdown menu that lists the lamina
located in the data file tree.

2) Fiber Volume Fraction Supply the fiber volume fraction for the above lamina

3) Use Default Material Properties Select this box if you want to use a predetermined set of
material properties based off the fiber type. This is useful if the user does not know any of the
constituent properties.

4) Default Properties If the "Use Default Material Properties" box is checked, choose one of the
available fiber types: Carbon, Kevlar, or Glass.

5) Available Fiber/Matrix If the "Use Default Material Properties" box is not checked choose an
available fiber and matrix material. This list is populated with the fiber or matrix materials from
the current material library.

After the user sets up the fields for the optimization process and the "Optimize" button is clicked, the
process begins. At this point Helius:CompositePro will let the user know that the optimization process is
working. Once the optimization step completes the user will be asked to save the optimized material with
a new name. This will save the lamina material under the supplied name and the fiber and matrix
materials under a similar name with "_Fiber" and "_Matrix" appended to the name. The user may be
warned of any excessive errors that may have occurred during the optimization. These excessive errors
may be a result of incomplete material inputs or unlikely material inputs.

9.9 Export Material
The Export Material utility allows the user to export any lamina or laminate for use in the following
popular finite element analysis (FEA) applications:

- Abaqus Material keywords are output for use within Abaqus input files.
- ANSYS Material APDL commands are output or materials can be output into MatML 3.1
format for use as Engineering Data in ANSYS Workbench.
- Nastran Material bulk data commands are output for use in Nastran bulk data files. Not all
commands are supported in every Nastran platform. The user should be aware of which
commands are available in their desired flavor of Nastran.

To export a material, select Export Material from the Utilities menu, and the window shown in Figure
9-24 will open.

Figure 9-24: Export Material Window

The user chooses What to Export and How to Export:

1. First, the target object for export is chosen Lamina or Laminate
2. Depending on which was chosen, the drop down menu under What to Export populates with the
available Laminas or Laminates from the material library.
3. Next, the target FEA application is chosen from the drop down menu under How to Export. One
of the following FEA applications can be chosen:

a. Abaqus
b. ANSYS
c. Nastran

4. The remaining options depend on the chosen FEA application in the previous step:
a. Abaqus The user must only choose between Engineering Constants output and
Anisotropic Elasticity output. The former uses the engineering constants form on the
Abaqus *ELASTIC keyword and the orthotropic form on the *EXPANSION keyword.
The latter uses the anisotropic form on both the *ELASTIC and *EXPANSION
keywords.

The name of the created Abaqus material will match the name of the selected Lamina or
Laminate.

b. ANSYS The user first specifies a valid material ID to be used for the ANSYS material.
Next they choose between APDL and MatML 3.1 format. The former is for direct
ANSYS Mechanical APDL commands. The latter uses the MatML 3.1 format for use as
Engineering Data in ANSYS Workbench.

If APDL is chosen the user must then choose between Engineering Constants output
and Anisotropic Elasticity output. The former specifies material properties as
engineering constants via the MP command. The latter specifies the full anisotropic
stiffness matrix using the TB, ANEL command.

If MatML 3.1 is chosen the stiffness type is not required. Both orthotropic elastic
constants and the anisotropic elastic stiffness matrix are supplied. The user can choose
the desired stiffness type in ANSYS workbench.

c. Nastran The user first specifies a valid material ID to be used for the Nastran material.
Next the desired bulk data command is chosen:
i. MAT8 Specifies orthotropic engineering constants for use with 2D and shell
elements.
ii. MAT2 Specifies the in plane stiffness matrix terms for use with 2D and shell
elements.
iii. MAT12 Specifies orthotropic engineering constants for use with solid
elements.
iv. MAT9 Specifies the full three dimensional stiffness matrix terms for use with
solid elements.

Once the export options have been chosen the user can preview the material definition by clicking the
Show Output button at the bottom of the Export Material window. This will open a new window with
the material definition as shown in Figure 9-25.


Figure 9-25: Material Definition Preview Window

The user has four available options from the material definition preview window:

1. Copy to Clipboard Clicking this button will copy the contents of the material definition to the
clipboard allowing the user to paste the definition into any other application that accepts plain
text.
2. Write to New File Clicking this button will open a dialog box allowing the user to select a path
and file name where the material definition will be written to. If an existing file is chosen the user
will be prompted to overwrite the current contents of the file.
3. Append to Existing File Clicking this button will open a dialog box allowing the user to select
an existing file. The material definition will be appended to the end of this file. This is useful for
adding a material definition to an existing FEA input or bulk data file. This option is not available
for ANSYS MatML 3.1 format.
4. Close Clicking this button will close the window and return to the Export Material window.

10 Window and Help Modules

10.1 Window Module

The window module is used for two things.

1) While multiple windows are open (e.g. new fiber, matrix, and laminate windows) the user can use
this module to choose which window they would like to work with. It will bring the selected
window to the front position of Helius:CompositePros GUI.

2) Close All: This option closes all open windows in Helius:CompositePro.

10.2 Help Module

There are four options available under the Help Module.

1) Users Guide: Clicking on this menu item will open an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file of the
Helius:CompositePro Users Guide. The users guide can also be accessed externally from
Helius:CompositePro by navigating to the Users Guide directory (Helius:CompositePro I nstall
Directory\UserGuide). The default location is C:\Program Files\Firehole Composites\
HeliusCompositePro\UserGuide.

2) External Help: This brings up Helius:CompositePros external help menu located on Firehole
Composites website.

3) Register: This brings up Helius:CompositePros License Registration window seen in Figure
10-1.


Figure 10-1: Helius:CompositePro Registration Window

In Figure 10-1, there are four areas that provide information about the registration status of
Helius:CompositePro:

A. Current License: This box displays the Current License, License Type, and activation time
assigned to the users version of Helius:CompositePro.

- Demo License Type. When a user installs a demo version of Helius:CompositePro, the
License Type and Time Remaining will display as Demo and Unlimited, respectively.
The user will have unlimited access to the program, however the user will only be
allowed to use a limited amount of Helius:CompositePros features.

- Basic License Type. When a user first installs a full version of Helius:CompositePro, the
License Type and Time Remaining will display as Basic and 7 Days, respectively. The
user will have unlimited access to all the features found in the program but has only 7
days to activate their purchase of Helius:CompositePro. Access to the full version of
Helius:CompositePro will be shut off if the user does not register their license within
seven days of installing the Basic version. Once the user has activated their Basic
License key, the Time Remaining will display as Unlimited.

- Backup License: Creates a text document containing the license key that can be saved as
a backup.

B. Activate License: There are three ways a user can activate their license key.

1. Activate license over the internet:. If Helius:CompositePro is installed onto a computer
with internet access, the user simply has to click on Activate and the license key will
become activated.

A
B
C
D

2. Activate license over the phone: Helius:CompositePro can be activated over the
telephone. Simply call the number provided under this option, and you will be assisted in
activating your license key.

3. Activate license over Email: Helius:CompositePro can be activated via email. Simply
email the current license key that is seen in the Current License display and the key
listed under Manual Activation to the supplied email address. A representative at
Firehole Composites will then email you back with an activated license.

C. Enter New License: If an activated license is obtained either by the phone or email, it must
be entered into this text box. Once the activated license key is entered, simply click on Add
License and Helius:CompositePro will become activated.
D. Finally, at the bottom of the registration window, the user has four options:
1. Close the registration window.
2. Exit Helius:CompositePro.
3. Contact Firehole (Contact Us will take the user to Fireholes Contact Us web page.)
4. Buy Helius:CompositePro If the user has not yet purchased a license to
Helius:CompositePro, the Buy Now button will direct them to the Helius:CompositePro
Buy web page.

4) About Helius:CompositePro: This opens a window stating some basic information about
Helius:CompositePro. (See Section 2.1 Toolbar Options for more information)


Appendix A: Helius:CompositePro Licensing

Node-Locked Licensing

Every time Helius:CompositePro is installed it applies a Demo version license to Helius:CompositePro
which limits functionality to a subset of the overall feature set. To expand the usefulness of
Helius:CompositePro a user can purchase a license to open all the features for use. Once a full use license
has been entered into Helius:CompositePro, that license can be backed up in case a new install of the
application is required.
Each license sold is a single use license which requires activation within seven days after applying the
license for the first time. Once activated that license no longer has a time limit for usage but is also
locked to that specific machine and cannot be used anywhere else.

Acquiring a Node Locked License

Any user can purchase license through various simple methods:
1. If the user is evaluating the Helius:CompositePro demo they can simply open
Helius:CompositePro and click the Purchase Helius:CompositePro button (found in the
Help menu under Register). The user will then be taken to the online order form and can
follow the process to purchase a full use license of Helius:CompositePro.
2. The user can simply visit the Helius:CompositePro purchase page at
http://www.firehole.com/order.aspx where they can order a full use license and then
download the demo afterward.
3. A user can email compositepro@firehole.com with their purchase request and customer
support will respond or process the order immediately.
4. Finally a user can call Firehole Composites at (307) 460-4763 x2 to contact the sales staff,
and purchase a license.
Applying a Node Locked License to Helius:CompositePro

Applying a license to Helius:CompositePro is a fairly simple process and is the same whether the user is
evaluating the demo or applying a new license to an unlocked version. A user simply must open
Helius:CompositePro and go to Help > Register and then copy (or type) their new license into the Enter
New License: field near the bottom of the window and then click the Add License button. If the user
previously had the demo version, Helius:CompositePro will immediately open the license Activation
Window where the user can choose to activate or close it and start working. If the user previously had a
full use license they can just choose to activate or close it and start working.
To know for sure that the license has been applied a user can check their current license and ensure that
the License code is different from previous and that the License Type: no longer says Demo.

Activating a Node Locked License

There are only three ways to activate a license for Helius:CompositePro:
1. If a user has a connection to the internet they can simply activate it from inside
Helius:CompositePro. Go to Help > Register , ensure the Activate license over the

internet option is selected, Click the Activate Button. If successful the Time Remaining
under the Current License section of the Activate window will change to Unlimited Usage.
If the activation fails, a message will pop up explaining the reason for the failure.
2. A user can call (307) 460-4763 and talk to the sales department who can manually activate
the license for the user. To activate this way a user must provide their current license and
the manual activation key located at the bottom of the Activate License options. Once
these are supplied and activation is successful the user will be given a new code to enter into
the Enter New License Field. Once the new code is entered the user can click Add
License and Unlimited Usage should show up next to the Time Remaining title.
3. A user can email compositepro@firehole.com and have their license manually activated by
Firehole Composites. To activate this way a user must provide their current license and the
manual activation key located at the bottom of the Activate License options. Once these
are supplied and activation is successful the user will be emailed a new code to enter into the
Enter New License Field. Once the new code is entered the user can click Add License
and Unlimited Usage should show up next to the Time Remaining title. If the activation
fails, a user will be contacted via email.
Backing up/Restoring a Node Locked icense

Backing up

When an activated license is added to Helius:CompositePro a backup of that Unlimited Usage is made
and kept in CPLicense.txt.bak located in the application directory (ie. C:\Program Files\Firehole
Composites\HeliusCompositePro). If a user wishes to back up a personal copy of the license and store
it wherever they please, they can simply go to Help > Register and click the Backup License button.
This will allow the user to save a copy of the License anywhere on their computer.

Restoring

Restoring a license is simple. Once a user installs a new version of Helius:CompositePro they will have a
Demo license no matter what the previous license was. To revert to a previous license a user can do it
two ways:

1. Make sure Helius:CompositePro is closed and then go to the application directory. The user can
then delete the newly installed CPLicense.txt and rename the CPLicense.txt.bak the same as the
deleted file.
2. A user can open the CPLicense.txt.bak or any backup made of the previous license and copy the
license code and paste it into the Enter New License field inside the Helius:CompositePro
Activate window.

Network Licensing

Network licenses are not available for purchase via the internet. To acquire a network license or to
obtain more information about network licensing contact Firehole Composites.

Network licenses (floating licenses) are also available for use with Helius:CompositePro. Network
licensing allows a finite number of licenses to be shared among a group of users on a network. Once the
fixed number of licenses is in use any additional users requesting a license will be denied a license and
restricted to demo mode.

Network licensing requires at least one valid machine on the user's network to act as a server. It is
recommended the server machine be one that requires little maintenance and is hardly ever shut down or
restarted. Single server and triple redundant server configurations are both supported by
Helius:CompositePro. A single server configuration consists of one machine that hands out licenses to
clients across the network. A triple redundant server configuration consists of three machines with one
master server that hands out licenses to clients. The advantage to a triple server configuration is that one
of the three machines can be down and the license server can still distribute licenses. If two of the three
machines are shut down or lose connection to the network simultaneously the license server will be
unable to process license requests from client machines.

When setting up Helius:CompositePro to use a network license the port numbers and server names of all
machines that make up the license server are required. This information is contained in the license file
provided by Firehole Composites.

The license server installation and relevant documentation is provided separately from the
Helius:CompositePro application. See the Customer Portal at http://www.firehole.com or contact
Firehole support for more information about setting up a network license server.

Appendix B: References for Materials
Included with Helius:CompositePro

Unidirectional Laminas

7740G30-500 Graphite
Tomblin, J., McKenna, J., Ng, Y., and Raju, S., B-Basis Design Allowables for Epoxy-Based Prepreg
Fiberite Graphite unitape G30-500 12K/7740. Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments,
Sep. 2001.

T700/Epoxy
Xiong J et al. Fabrication and crushing behavior of low density carbon fiber composite pyramidal truss
structures. Compos Struct (2010), doi:10.1016/j.compstruct.2010.03.010

AS4-3501-6
Soden, P.D., Hinton, M.J. and Kaddour, A.S., Lamina Properties, Lay-up Configurations and Loading
Conditions for a Range of Fibre-Reinforced Composite Laminates. Composites Science and
Technology, Vol. 58, 1011-1022, 1998.

AS4_3502
MIL-HDBK-17-2F, Department of Defense Handbook: Composite Materials Handbook. U.S. Army
Research Laboratory, Materials Directorate, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD.

AS4_8552
Multiple Sources:
Portela, Pedro et al., Analysis of Morphing, Multi Stable Structures Actuated by Piezoelectric Patches.
Computers and Structures, Vol. 86, Issue 3-5, 347-356, 2008.

HexPly 8552 Epoxy Matrix. Product Data Sheet (Publication FTA 072b), Hexcel Composites,
Stamford, Connecticut. March 2007.

Boron/5505
Mayes JS. Micromechanics based failure analysis of composite structural laminates. Naval Surface
Warfare Center, Carderock Division Report, NSWCCD-65-TR1999/15, September 1999.

E-Glass/Epoxy
Zwben, C., Static Strength & Elastic Properties, Mechanical Behavior & Properties of Composite
Materials, Delaware Composites Design Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, Technomic Publishing, Lancaster PA,
pp. 66-69, (1989).

Eglass21xK43Gevetex-LY556
Technology, Vol. 58, 1011-1022, 1998.

HM Graphite/Epoxy
pp. 66-69, (1989).

HTS150_TC250
TC250 Resin System. Product Data Sheet, TenCate Advanced Composites USA, Inc., Morgan Hill,
CA., Revised March 2007.

IM7_5250-4
Multiple Sources:
CYCOM 5250-4 Prepreg System. Product Data Sheet, Cytec Engineered Materials, Anaheim, CA.
Kim RY, Rice BP, Donaldson SL. Microcracking in composite laminates under thermal
environments: 150 to 196 C. Proceedings of the 47th SAMPE international symposium.
Long Beach, CA: SAMPE; 2002. p. 83342.

IM7_8551-7
Kaddour, A.S. and Hinton, M.J., Instructions to Contributors of the Second World-Wide Failure
Exercise (WWFE-II): Part (A).

IM7_8552
Multiple Sources:
Makeev, A., Seon, G. and Lee, E., Failure Predictions for Carbon/Epoxy Tape Laminates with Wavy
Plies. Journal of Composite Materials, Article in Press, 2009.
HexPly 8552 Epoxy. Product Data Sheet, Hexcel Corporation, Dublin, CA.
- S22 value was estimated based on similar carbon epoxy systems.

IM7-977-2
Welsh, J.S., Mayes, J.S. and Biskner, A.C., Experimental and Numerical Failure Predictions of
Biaxially-Loaded Quasi-Isotropic Carbon Composites. 16th International Conference on Composite
Materials, Kyoto, Japan, 2007.

IM7-977-3
Smith, J.G., Jegley, D.C. and Siochi, E.J., Hypervelocity Impact Testing of IM7/977-3 with Micron-
Sized Particles. Proceedings of 51st AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural
Dynamics, and Materials Conference. Orlando, FL, April 2010.
CYCOM 977-3 Epoxy Resin System, Cytec Engineering Materials, www.cytec.com (March 2012)

Kevlar-49/Epoxy
Data Manual For Kevlar 49 Aramid, E.I Dupont de Nemours & Co., Inc., (May 1986).

LM Graphite/Epoxy
Hercules Prepreg Tape Materials Characterization Data Package, Hercules Composites Products Group,
(February 1989).

S-2 Glass/Epoxy
S-2 Glass Fiber, Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation, Pub. No. 15-PL-16154, (March 1990).


SilEglass1200tex-MY750
Technology, Vol. 58, 1011-1022, 1998.

T300_976

T300-BSL914C
Technology, Vol. 58, 1011-1022, 1998.

T300_PR319

T300/VTM266 2x2 3K Twill Weave
In Plane Properties:
Composite T300/VTM266 2x2 Twill Prepreg Product Datasheet, Prospector:Composites, Firehole
Composites
- Out of Plane Properties and thermal coefficients are estimated values.

T800H_3900-2
Multiple Sources:

Ogihara, S., Takeda, N. and Kobayashi, A., Experimental Characterization of Microscopic Failure
Process under Quasi-Static Tension in Interleaved and Toughness-Improved CFRP Cross-Ply
Laminates. Composites Science and Technology Vol. 57, 267-275, 1997.

Smith, D. and Dow, M., Properties of Three Graphite/Toughened Resin Composites. NASA: NASA
Langley Research Center, 1991.

UM Graphite/Epoxy
pp. 66-69, (1989).

Matrix Materials

3501-6 Epoxy
Hinton, M.J., Kaddour, A.S. and Soden, P.D., Failure Criteria in Fibre Reinforced Polymer Composites:
The World-Wide Failure Exercise. The Netherlands: ELSEVIER Ltd, 2004. 36-37.


5250-4 RTM
CYCOM 5250-4 RTM. Product Data Sheet, Cytec Engineered Materials, Anaheim, CA.
- Compressive and shear strengths are estimated

5505 Epoxy
Mayes JS. Micromechanics based failure analysis of composite structural laminates. Naval Surface
Warfare Center, Carderock Division Report, NSWCCD-65-TR1999/15, September 1999.

8551-7 Epoxy

BSL914C Epoxy

CETEX PEI
CETEX PEI. Technical Data Sheet, TenCate Advanced Composites, Almelo, The Netherlands.

Coors Tek PEKK
CoorsTek PEKK. Technical Data Sheet, IDES Prospector, Laramie, WY.

KT-820 PEEK
KetaSpire KT-820. Technical Data Sheet, Solvay Specialty Polymers.

KT-880 PEEK
KetaSpire KT-880. Technical Data Sheet, Solvay Specialty Polymers.

LY556 Epoxy

MY750 Epoxy

Polyester
1992 Materials Selector, Materials Engineering, p. 181, (December 1991).

PR-319 Epoxy
- These values are considered to be low, compared with typical data for the same material published
somewhere else or quoted by the manufacturers.

R-5100 PPSU
Radel R-5100. Technical Data Sheet, Solvay Specialty Polymers.

Vinylester
Chemical Resistance Guide, DOW Derakane Vinylester Resins, DOW Chemical, (December 1996)

Fiber Materials

AS4 Graphite
Multiple Sources:

AS4 Continuous Carbon Fiber. Product Data Sheet, Hexcel Corporation, Dublin, CA.
- End Area Value is estimated

Boron
Herakovich C.T., Mechanics of Fibrous Composites New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1998. pp. 7.
- Elastic constants E
22
, G
12
, G
23
, and Nu
12
were calculated using Helius Material Manager.

E-Glass

E-Glass 21 x K43 Gevetex
- Thermal Conductivity, Density, and End Area are estimated

High Modulus Graphite
Source not available

HTS150
TC250 Resin System. Product Data Sheet, TenCate Advanced Composites USA, Inc., Morgan Hill,
CA., Revised March 2007
- Values are based from Helius Material Manager Micromechanics
- Strengths, Thermal Conductivity, Density, and End Area are estimated

IM7 Carbon
Multiple Sources:

Kevlar-49
Data Manual For Kevlar 49 Aramid, E.I Dupont de Nemours & Co., Inc., (May 1986).

IM7 Continuous Carbon Fiber. Product Data Sheet, Hexcel Corporation, Dublin, CA.

S-2 Fiberglass
Multiple Sources:

Silenka E-Glass 1200tex
- Thermal Conductivity, Density, and End Area are estimated

T300 Carbon
Multiple Sources:
T300 Technical Data Sheet No. CFA-001, Toray Carbon Fibers America, Inc., Santa Ana, CA.

T800 Carbon
T800 Continuous Carbon Fiber. Product Data Sheet, Toray Carbon Fibers America, Inc., Flower
Mound, TX.
- Material properties are estimated from Helius Material Manager Micromechanics
- End Area is estimated

Ultra Modulus Graphite
Source not available

Core Materials

Aluminum Alloy Honeycomb
HexWeb Honeycomb Attributes and Properties. Hexcel Corporation, Dublin, CA. pp. 16-17

Aluminum Alloy Flex-Core
HexWeb Honeycomb Attributes and Properties. Hexcel Corporation, Dublin, CA. pp. 18

Balsa
The Properties of End-Grain Balsa Core, Baltek Corp., Data file 159, (1990).

FR-3700 LAST-A-FOAM
LAST-A-FOAM FR-3700 Rigid Foam. Interactive Data Sheet, Gerneral Plastics Manufacturing
Company, Tacoma, WA.

FR-6700 LAST-A-FOAM
LAST-A-FOAM FR-6700 Rigid Foam. Interactive Data Sheet, Gerneral Plastics Manufacturing
Company, Tacoma, WA.

Glass HC, 3/16
Mechanical Properties of Hexcel Honeycomb Materials, Hexcel, Doc. No. TSB-120, (1988).

High Density Foam
Sandwich Core Material Average Physical Properties, Divinycell Diab-Barracuda, Doc. No.
87.03.3000, (1987).

Low Density Foam
Sandwich Core Material Average Physical Properties, Divinycell Diab-Barracuda, Doc. No.
87.03.3000, (1987).

HRH-10 Aramid Fiber Reinforced Honeycomb
HexWeb Honeycomb Attributes and Properties. Hexcel Corporation, Dublin, CA. pp. 21

Alloys

1025 Steel
Metallic Materials and Elements for Aerospace Vehicle Structures, MILHDBK-5E, Dept. of Defense,
(June 1987).

6061-T6 Aluminum
(June 1987).

Ti-6Al-4v Titanium
(June 1987).


Appendix C: Available Failure Criteria for Composite
Materials

Within the Laminate drop-down menu, Helius:CompositePro provides the user with four different
procedures for performing failure analysis of laminates. The four laminate failure analysis procedures
are: First Ply Failure, First Ply Failure Survey, Progressive Failure, and Failure Envelope. Within each
of these four laminate failure analysis procedures, Helius:CompositePro provides the user with a choice
of eight different failure criteria for composite materials: Max Strain, Max Stress, Tsai-Wu, Tsai-Hill,
Hashin, Christensen, Puck, and MCT. Each of these eight failure criteria is briefly described below.

Warning: Helius:CompositePro allows the use of isotropic materials such as steel and aluminum. Be
aware that precautions should be taken when applying the following failure criteria to these materials as

the majority of the criteria were developed for the sole purpose of predicting failure in transversely
isotropic composite materials.

1) Max Strain Criterion:

The Max Strain Criterion identifies three possible modes of failure: Longitudinal Failure, Transverse
Failure, or Shear Failure.

c
max+
11
Value of c
11
at longitudinal tensile failure, c
max+
11
= S
+
11
/E
11

c
max
11
Value of c
11
at longitudinal compressive failure, c
max
11
= S
11
/E
11

c
max+
22
Value of c
22
at transverse tensile failure, c
max+
22
= S
+
22
/E
22

c
max
22
Value of c
22
at transverse compressive failure, c
max
22
= S
22
/E
22

c
max
22
Absolute value of c
12
at longitudinal shear failure, c
max
12
= S
12
/G
12

Longitudinal Failure occurs whenever c
11
> c
max+
11
or c
11
s c
max
11

Transverse Failure occurs whenever c
22
> c
max+
22
or c
22
s c
max
22

Longitudinal Shear Failure occurs whenever |c
12
| > |c
max
12
|
Failure Index = Max. Absolute Value of (
c
11
c
max+
11
,
c
11
c
max
11
,
c
22
c
max+
22
,
c
22
c
max
22
,
c
12
c
max
12
)

Since the failure index is a simple ratio of strains, the failure load can be computed by simply
dividing the applied load by the failure index. For example, consider a composite material that is
subjected to a transverse normal stress of 1 psi. If the computed failure index is 0.0002, then the
transverse normal stress at failure is (1 psi)/0.0002 = 5000 psi.

2) Max Stress Criterion:

The Max Stress Criterion identifies three possible modes of failure: Longitudinal Failure, Transverse
Failure, or Shear Failure.

S
+
11
Value of o
11
at longitudinal tensile failure
S
11
Value of o
11
at longitudinal compressive failure
S
+
22
Value of o
22
at transverse tensile failure
S
22
Value of o
22
at transverse compressive failure
S
12
Absolute value of o
12
at longitudinal shear failure

Longitudinal Failure occurs whenever o
11
> S
+
11
or o
11
s S
11

Transverse Failure occurs whenever o
22
> S
+
22
or o
22
s S
22

Longitudinal Shear Failure occurs whenever |o
12
| > |o
max
12
|

Failure Index = Max. Absolute Value of (
o
11
S
+
11
,
o
11
S
11
,
o
22
S
+
22
,
o
22
S
22
,
o
12
S
12
)

Since the failure index is a simple ratio of stresses, the failure load can be computed by simply
dividing the applied load by the failure index. For example, consider a composite material that is
subjected to a transverse normal stress of 1 psi. If the computed failure index is 0.0002, then the
transverse normal stress at failure is (1 psi)/0.0002 = 5000 psi.

3) Tsai-Wu Criterion:

The Tsai-Wu Criterion is a quadratic, interactive stress-based criterion that identifies failure, but does
not distinguish between different modes of failure (Ref. 38).

Failure occurs whenever the following condition is satisfied.

F
1
o
11
+ F
2
o
22
+ F
11
o
2
11
+ F
22
o
2
22
+ F
66
o
2
12
+ 2F
12
o
11
o
22
> 1.0

The various coefficients F
i
and F
ij
of the Tsai-Wu criterion are defined in terms of known/measured
strengths of the composite material.

S
+
11
Value of o
11
S
11
Value of o
11
S
+
22
Value of o
22
S
22
Value of o
22
S
12
Absolute value of o
12

F
1

1
S
+
11
+
1
S
11

F
2

1
S
+
22
+
1
S
22

F
11

1
S
+
11
S
11

F
22

1
S
+
22
S
22

F
66

1
S
12
S
12

The interaction coefficient F
12
can be defined in one of two different ways. If a biaxial failure stress
(o
11
= o
22
= o
biax
) is used, then F
12
is computed as

F
12

1
2o
2
biax

(
(
1
\
|
.
|
|
1
S
+
11
+
1
S
+
11
+
1
S
+
22
+
1
S
+
22

o
biax
+
\
|
.
|
|
1
S
+
11
S
+
11
+
1
S
+
22
S
+
22

o
2
biax

Otherwise, the interaction coefficient F
12
is computed as

F
12
= f
*
F
11
F
22
where f
*
is a user-specified constant, -0.5 f
*
0.

If the Tsai-Wu criterion is selected for analysis in Helius:CompositePro, the user must specify the
coefficient f
*
.

The failure index reported for the Tsai-Wu criterion is

Failure Index F
1
o
11
+ F
2
o
22
+ F
11
o
2
11
+ F
22
o
2
22
+ F
66
o
2
12
+ 2F
12
o
11
o
22
.

4) Tsai-Hill Criterion:

The Tsai-Hill criterion is a quadratic, interactive stress-based criterion that identifies failure, but does
not distinguish between different modes of failure.

Failure occurs whenever the following condition is satisfied:

o
2
11
S
2
11

o
11
o
22
S
2
11
+
o
2
22
S
2
22
+
o
2
12
S
2
12

> 1.0

The coefficients S
ij
of the Tsai-Hill criterion are computed as follows:

S
+
11
Value of o
11
S
11
Value of o
11
S
+
22
Value of o
22
S
22
Value of o
22
S
12
Absolute value of o
12

If o
11
> 0, then S
11
= S
+
11

If o
11
< 0, then S
11
= S
11

If o
22
> 0, then S
22
= S
+
22

If o
22
< 0, then S
22
= S
22

The failure index reported for the Tsai-Hill criterion is

Failure Index =
o
2
11
S
2
11

o
11
o
22
S
2
11
+
o
2
22
S
2
22
+
o
2
12
S
2
12
.

5) Hashin Criterion:

The Hashin criterion identifies four different modes of failure for the composite material: tensile fiber
failure, compressive fiber failure, tensile matrix failure, compressive matrix failure.

S
+
11
Value of o
11
S
11
Value of o
11

S
+
22
Value of o
22
S
22
Value of o
22
S
12
Absolute value of o
12
S
23
Absolute value of o
23
at transverse shear failure

If o
11
> 0, then the Tensile Fiber Failure Criterion is:
F
+
f

\
|
.
|
|
o
11
S
+
11
2
+ o
\
|
.
|
o
12
S
12
2
> 1.0

If o
11
< 0, then the Compressive Fiber Failure Criterion is:
F
f

\
|
.
|
|
o
11
S
11
2
> 1.0

If o
22
> 0, then the Tensile Matrix Failure Criterion is:
0 . 1
2
12
12
2
22
22
>
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
|
|
.
|
\
|
+
+
S S
F
m
o o

If o
22
< 0, then the Compressive Matrix Failure Criterion is:
F
m

\
|
.
|
o
22
2S
23
2
+
(
(
\
|
.
|
|

S
22
2S
23

2
1
o
22
S
22
+
\
|
.
|
o
12
S
12
2
> 1.0

Note that the Hashin equations include two user-specified parameters: o and S
23
.

- o: User-specified coefficient that determines the contribution of the longitudinal shear stress
to fiber tensile failure. Allowable range is 0.0 o 1.0, and the default value is o=0.

- S23: Transverse shear strength of the composite material in the 23 plane.

6) Christensen Criterion:

The Christensen criterion utilizes the following six fundamental strengths of the composite material to
identify two different failure modes: matrix failure and fiber failure.

S
+
11
Value of o
11
S
11
Value of o
11
S
+
22
Value of o
22
S
22
Value of o
22
S
12
Absolute value of o
12
S
23
Absolute value of o
23
at transverse shear failure

The matrix failure criterion is


\
|
.
|
|
1
S
+
22

1
S
22
(o
22
+ o
33
) +
1
S
+
22
S
22
(o
22
+ o
33
)
2

+
1
S
2
23
(o
2
23
o
22
o
33
) +
1
S
2
12
(o
2
12
+ o
2
13
) > 1.0

where the transverse shear strength S
23
is required to satisfy S
23
>
1
2
S
+
22

S
22
.

The fiber failure criterion is

0 . 1
1 1
11 11
2
11
11
11 11
> +
|
|
.
|
\
|
+ +
S S S S
o
o

7) Puck Criterion:

The Puck criterion (Ref. 6 and 7) identifies fiber failure and inter-fiber failure in a unidirectional
composite, but further separates inter-fiber failure into three different physical modes and further
separates fiber failure into two different physical modes. The general form of the Puck criterion
utilizes the full 3-D state of stress and strain, but Helius:CompositePros implementation considers
only in-plane stresses and strains consistent with Classical Laminate Theory.

To use the Puck failure criterion, the user must specify two pieces of information:

- Composite Material Type: Either a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) or a glass fiber
reinforced polymer (GFRP) must be specified.

- Fiber Material Type: For lamina materials that were not defined using CompositePros
micromechanics module (Section 4.2), the user must identify the fiber material used in the
composite lamina.

Fiber Failure

The Puck criterion recognizes two different modes of fiber failure, the first being a tensile failure, and
the second being a compressive "fiber kinking" failure. The tensile fiber failure criterion is
,

and the compressive "fiber kinking" failure is

.

In the above fiber failure criteria, and are the composite strains corresponding to composite
longitudinal tensile and compressive failure, respectively, is the uniaxial strain in the composite,
is the longitudinal Poisson ratio of the fiber, is the longitudinal tensile modulus of the fiber,

is the transverse stress of the composite, is the longitudinal shear strain in the composite, and
is intended to capture the differences in the transverse stresses in the fiber and matrix. For
carbon fibers , and for glass fibers . In the above equations, the tensile equation
is evaluated if , and the compressive criterion is evaluated if
.

Inter-Fiber Failure (Matrix Cracking)

In the Puck criterion, inter-fiber failure encompasses any matrix cracking or fiber/matrix debonding.
The Puck criterion recognizes three different inter-fiber failure modes, referred to as modes A, B, and
C. These inter-fiber failure modes are distinguished by the orientation of the fracture planes relative
to the reinforcing fibers.

I nter-Fiber Failure Mode A:
Mode A corresponds to a fracture angle of 0. The criterion is invoked if the transverse stress in the
composite is greater than 0 (thus indicating a transverse crack perpendicular to the transverse
loading).

.
I nter-Fiber Failure Mode B:
Mode C corresponds to a transverse compressive stress (inhibiting crack formation) with a
longitudinal shear stress which is below a fracture resistance (coupled with empirical constants).

.

The above criterion is evaluated if
.

I nter-Fiber Failure Mode C:
Mode C corresponds to a transverse compressive stress (inhibiting crack formation) with a
longitudinal shear stress which is significantly large enough to cause fracture on an inclined plane to
fiber axis. Within the context of Classical Laminate Theory, we do not need to define the fracture
angle, as it is irrelevant for failure predictions involving only in-plane stresses and strains (and no
degradation of material properties). The failure criterion for Mode C is

.

The above criterion is evaluated if

.

Description of Coefficients and Terms used in the Inter-Fiber Failure criteria

We will make use of commonly accepted notation, e.g., is the composite longitudinal shear
stress, is the composite longitudinal normal stress, is the composite transverse normal stress,
is the composite transverse tensile strength, and is the transverse compressive strength. and
are the slopes of the fracture envelope. To establish the connection between and
, Puck assumes that the following relationship holds

.

Therefore, is given by

.

Within the context of the in-plane stresses and strains of the Classical Laminate Theory, can be
defined as which allows Puck to express as

.

Now we must define the values for and . Puck and Mannigal (2007) provide the following
recommended values for and .

Reinforcement
Type

Glass Fiber 0.25 0.3
Carbon Fiber 0.3 0.35

Puck also defines as

.

Finally, we must define . This is a "degraded" stress in the composite allowing for pre-fiber
failure breakage of individual fibers, which causes localized damage in these areas in the form of
microcracking and debonding. To account for this weakening effect, Puck degrades the fracture
resistances (R) by a weakening factor Puck defines two equations for this. The first is for the
generalized weakening factor.

.

The second is to give another expression of the weakening factor in order to keep the fracture
conditions homogeneous and of first degree with respect to the stresses.

.

For the in-plane stress states considered by Helius:CompositePro, these two should be equal since
there are no iterative calculations on fracture planes being performed. Therefore,

.

Based on the recommendations of Puck, Helius:CompositePro uses n=6 for the exponent and
empirically computes as depending on the sign of .

8) MCT Criterion:

Note: In order to use MCT each ply in the laminate in question must contain a material that is valid
for an MCT analysis. A valid material is one that contains an associated fiber and matrix material.
This can be done by creating the lamina from micromechanics (see Section 4.2) or optimizing an
existing lamina for MCT (see Section 9.8).

The MCT criterion is based off the Multicontinuum Theory
39,40
(MCT). The concept of
multicontinuum extends the notion of a continuum to reflect distinctly different materials that coexist
within a representative volume element (RVE). Such an extension is natural in any case where there
are two or more clearly identifiable constituents with drastically different material properties. Hence,
a unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite material may be viewed as two interacting continua (a
fiber continuum and a matrix continuum) that coexist within a suitably chosen representative volume
element of the composite material.

In traditional continuum mechanics (as applied to fiber-reinforced composite structures), attention is
focused on the development of relationships between the various composite average quantities (e.g.
stress, strain). Multicontinuum Theory (or MCT) augments traditional continuum mechanics by
expanding the focus to include two additional issues: 1) the development of relationships between the
various constituent average quantities of interest, and 2) the development of relationships that link the
composite average quantities to the constituent average quantities.

MCT predicts failure at the fiber and matrix level as opposed to the composite or lamina level. This is
done by first obtaining the volume averaged stress states in the fiber and matrix. The constituent
stresses are a function of the composite stress and the stiffness of the composite, fiber and matrix.

The MCT Decomposition

The fiber and matrix stresses are obtained via the following stress and strain decomposition process.
The first step is to obtain the strain state in the matrix:

m
= (
m
I +
f
A)
-1
(
c
- Ta)

where
f
and
m
represents the volume fraction of the fibers and matrix respectively, I is a 6x6
identity matrix, A and a relate the average mechanical and thermal strain in the constituents
respectively. They are defined as follows:

A = -
f
(C
c
- C
f
)
-1
(C
c
- C
m
)

a =
1
f
(C
c
- C
f
)
-1
(C
c
c
-
f
C
f

f
-
m
C
m

m
)

The strain in the fiber can then be found using:

f
= A
m
+ aT

Now the fiber and matrix stress states can be calculated:

f
= C
f
m
= C
m
m

The constituent stresses are then used to evaluate failure in the fiber and matrix separately.

MCT Matrix Constituent Failure Criterion

The following assumptions are employed in developing the matrix constituent failure criterion for
unidirectional composites.

1) Matrix failure is assumed to be influenced by all six of the matrix average stress components
o
m
11
, o
m
22
, o
m
33
, o
m
12
, o
m
13
and o
m
23
.
2) The matrix constituent material is assumed to be transversely isotropic; consequently, one cannot
distinguish between the contributions of o
m
22
and o
m
33
to matrix failure, nor can one distinguish
between the contributions of o
m
12
and o
m
13
to matrix failure.
3) The influence of the matrix average normal stresses (o
m
11
, o
m
22
and o
m
33
) in producing matrix failure
depends upon whether the normal stresses are tensile or compressive.

Using these four basic assumptions the matrix failure criterion is expressed as a quadratic function
of the matrix average stress components.

A
m
1

( )
I
m
1
2

A
m
2

( )
I
m
2
2
+ A
m
3
I
m
3
+ A
m
4
I
m
4

A
m
5
I
m
1
I
m
2
= 1

In the above equation, the quantities I
m
j
(j=1,2,3,4) are transversely isotropic invariants of the matrix
average stress state.

I
m
1
o
m
11

I
m
2
o
m
22
+ o
m
33

I
m
3

( )
o
m
22

2
+
( )
o
m
33

2
+ 2
( )
o
m
23

2

I
m
4

( )
o
m
12

2
+
( )
o
m
13

2

The quantities A
m
i
(i=1,2,3,4,5) are the coefficients of the matrix failure criteria. If a superscript
symbol precedes a coefficient A
m
i
, the symbol indicates that the numerical value of A
m
i
depends on
whether the associated matrix average stresses are tensile or compressive; hence
A
m
1
represents two
possible values. For the coefficient
A
m
5
, there are actually four possible values depending on whether
I
m
1
is positive or negative and also depending on whether I
m
2
is positive or negative. Therefore, the
matrix failure criterion contains a total of 10 adjustable coefficients that must be determined using
measured strengths of the composite material.

MCT Fiber Constituent Failure Criterion

The following assumptions are employed in developing the fiber constituent failure criterion.

1) Fiber failure is assumed to be influenced by the fiber average stress components o
f
11
, o
f
12
and o
f
13
.
2) Fiber failure is assumed to be independent of the fiber average stress components o
f
22
, o
f
33
and o
f
23

.
3) The contribution of o
f
11
in producing fiber failure depends upon whether o
f
11
is tensile or
compressive.
4) The fiber constituent material is assumed to be transversely isotropic; consequently, one cannot
distinguish between the contributions of o
f
12
and o
f
13
to fiber failure.

Using these five basic assumptions, the fiber failure criterion is expressed as a quadratic function of
the fiber average stress components.

A

f
1

( )
I

f
1

2
+

A
f
4
I

f
4
= 1

The quantities I
f
i
(i=1,4) are two of the transversely isotropic invariants of the fiber average stress
state.


I
f
1
o
f
11

I
f
4

( )
o
f
12

2
+
( )
o
f
13

2

The quantities A

f
j
(j=1,4) are the adjustable coefficients of the fiber failure criteria. If a superscript
symbol precedes the coefficient A

f
j
, the symbol indicates that the value of A

f
j
depends on whether
the associated fiber average stresses are tensile or compressive; hence
A

f
1
represents two possible
values. Therefore, the fiber failure criterion contains a total of 3 adjustable coefficients that must be
determined using measured strengths of the composite material.

Failure Mode
A description of each failure mode for each failure criteria is displayed below:

Failure Criteria Failure Modes
Max Strain 1 - Transverse Failure, 2 - Shear Failure, 3 - Longitudinal Failure
Max Stress 1 - Transverse Failure, 2 - Shear Failure, 3 - Longitudinal Failure
Tsai-Wu 1 - Failure (Tsai-Wu does not differentiate between failure modes)
Tsai-Hill 1 - Failure (Tsai-Hill does not differentiate between failure modes)
Hashin 1 - Matrix Failure, 2 - Fiber Failure
Christensen 1 - Matrix Failure, 2 - Fiber Failure
Puck 1 - Matrix Failure, 2 - Fiber Failure
MCT (Uni) 1 - Matrix Failure, 2 - Fiber Failure

References

1. Jones, R. M., Mechanics of Composite Materials, 2nd Edition, Taylor and Francis, Philiadelphia,
(1999).
2. Vasiliev, Valery V. & Jones, Robert M., Mechanics of Composite Structures, Taylor & Francis,
Wash. DC, (1993).
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5. Christensen, R.M., Failure Criteria For Anisotropic Fiber Composite Materials,
http://www.failurecriteria.com/, 2008.
6. Puck, A. and H. Shrmann, 1996, Failure Analysis of FRP Laminates by Means of Physically
Based Phenomenological Models, Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 58, pp. 1045-1067.
7. Puck, A., and M. Mannigal, 2007, Physically Based Non-Linear Stress-Strain Relations for the
Inter-Fiber Fracture Analysis of FRP Laminates, Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 67,
pp. 1955-1964.
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1990).
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17. Design Properties of Marine Grade Fiberglass Laminates, Gibbs & Cox, Inc., sponsored by
Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., Pub. No. 5-B0-5905-A (March 1973).
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Products Group, (February 1989).
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Composite Materials, Delaware Composites Design Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, Technomic Publishing,
Lancaster PA, pp. 66-69, (1989).

20. Metallic Materials and Elements for Aerospace Vehicle Structures, MIL-HDBK-5E, Dept. of
Defense, (June 1987).
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Aeronautics, Vol. 31, No. 6, pp. 58-62 (1983).
22. Gibson, Ronald F., Principles of Composite Material Mechanics, McGraw-Hill, New York, pp.
107-114 (1995).
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Materials, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht, (1987).
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Lancaster, (1987).
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(December 1968)
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28. The Properties of End-Grain Balsa Core, Baltek Corp., Data file 159, (1990).
29. Young, W.C., Roarks Formulas for Stress & Strain, 6th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, (1989)
30. Vierck, R.K., Vibration Analysis, 2nd ed., Harper & Row, New York, (1979).
31. Shock and Vibration Handbook
32. Buckling of Thin-Walled Circular Cylinders, NASA SP-8007, (August 1968).
33. Aerospace Design Engineers Guide, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1987).
34. Peters, S.T., Humphrey, W.D., Foral, R.F., Filament Winding Composite Structure Fabrication,
Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering, (October 1991)
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Theory of Elastic Moduli of Fabric Composites, Journal of Composite Materials, Vol. 19,
(1985.)
36. ICI Fiberite Materials Handbook, ICI Fiberite, (December 1991).
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Journal of Advanced Materials, Vol. 26, No. 3, (April 1995.)
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rd
ed, pp 11-5.
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