An analytical nonlinear morphing model for corrugated laminates

Abstract

This paper contributes an analytical nonlinear morphing model for high-amplitude corrugated thinwalled laminates of arbitrary stack-up with a corrugation shape composed of circular sections. The model describes large deformations, the nonlinear relation between line force and global stretch, and the distribution of local line loads. The quarter-unit-cell approach together with assuming small material strains and a plane strain situation contribute to the model’s simplicity. It is explained how the solution procedure minimizes the force and moment residual of the equilibrium of cutting and reaction line loads by using Newton’s optimization method. Deformation results are verified by comparison with FEM simulation. The effects of laminate design and corrugation amplitude on deformations, line-force-stretch diagrams, and bending-curvature-stretch diagrams are presented and discussed.

Keywords

• corrugated laminate
• composite materials
• large deformations
• morphing