Abstract
A micromechanical model is developed for laminated composite materials and implemented in the explicit finite element method. The objective of this study is to get an accurate and simple micro-model that can be used in the displacement-based nonlinear explicit finite element code DYNA3D. The micromechanical model implemented in the explicit finite element code can be used for simulating the behavior of composite structures under various loads such as impact and crash. The stress-strain relation for the micro-model is derived for shell element. A micro-failure criterion (MFC) is presented for each material constituent and failure mode. The implemented model is validated through several test examples. As a demonstration case of the stability of the developed micro-model, a finite element model of a graphite/epoxy tube structure is developed and simulated under axial crash.