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The use of fabric reinforced polymers in the automotive industry is growing significantly. The high specific stiffness and strength, the ease of shaping as well as the great impact performance of these materials widely encourage their diffusion. The present model increases the predictability of explicit finite element analysis and push the boundaries of the ongoing phenomenological model. Carbon fibre composites made up various preforms were tested by applying different mechanical load up to dynamic loading. This experimental campaign highlighted the physical mechanisms affecting the initial mechanical properties, namely intra- and interlaminar matrix damage, viscoelasticty and fibre failure. The intralaminar behaviour model is based on the explicit formulation of the matrix damage model developed by the ONERA as the given damage formulation correlates with the experimental observation. Coupling with a Maxwell-Wiechert model, the viscoelasticity is included without losing the direct explicit formulation. Additionally, the model is formulated under a total Lagrangian scheme in order to maintain consistency for finite strain. Thus, the material frame-indifference as well as anisotropy are ensured. This allows reorientation of fibres to be taken into account particularly for in-plane shear loading. Moreover, fall within the framework of the total Lagrangian scheme greatly makes the parameter identification easier, as based on the initial configuration. This intralaminar model thus relies upon a physical description of the behaviour of fabric composites and the numerical simulations show a good correlation with the experimental results.

These paper deals with the development of new bonded joint modelling for crash application. A new testing device has been set up on Split Hopkinson bars in order to identify adhesive’s properties in assemblies for high strain rate and for different loading angles. These tests led to the development of a new cohesive element model used for solving nonlinear dynamic problems with an explicit integration time scheme. An example illustrates and justifies the development of such a cohesive element under dynamic loading by a good efficiency and a significant saving in calculation time.

A phenomenological small strain model is developed to capture the elastoviscoplastic behaviour of a 20% filled polypropylene. The constitutive model is based on a multiplicative viscoplastic law. The hydrostatic pressure dependency is considered by using the Drucker Prager yield surface. A phenomenological damage model characterised directly by experimental investigation is used to capture the yield degradation during the deformation in tension. The volume variation due to the cavitation phenomenon is captured by using non-associated viscoplasticity. Some experimental tests at different speed loadings are carried out for the parameters identification of the constitutive model. Furthermore, a fracture model which depends on the stress triaxiality and the strain rate is developed in order to model the complete behaviour of the material studied until fracture.

Polymers are currently used in several industrial applications such as the interior components of the vehicle. We find them for example in the design of dashboards or door panels. These materials may be subjected to different types of load like the temperature variation or high strain rates due to crash impact. It is therefore necessary to well understand and to anticipate the complex mechanical behaviour of the polymers. This paper describes the results of experimental research about the dependence between the strain rate and the temperature. The main objective is to be able to model the complete variety of the behaviour in order to predict the risk of failure under dynamic loadings. The material chosen for this study is a copolymer propylene ethylene mineral (talc) filled 15% impact modified.

Damage evolution and characterization in semi-crystalline polymer filled with particles under various loadings is still a challenge. A specific damage characterization method using Digital Image Correlation is proposed for a wide range of strain rates considering tensile tests with hydraulic jacks as well as Hopkinson's bars. This damage measurement is obtained by using and adapting the SEE method [1] which was developed to characterize the behaviour laws at constant strain rates of polymeric materials in dynamic. To validate the characterization process, various damage measurement techniques are used under quasi-static conditions before to apply the procedure in dynamic. So, the well-known damage characterization by loss of stiffness technique under quasi-static loading is applied to a polypropylene. In addition, an in-situ tensile test, carried out in a microtomograph, is used to observe the cavitation phenomenon in real time. A good correlation is obtained between all these techniques and consequently the proposed technique is supposed suitable for measuring the ductile damage observed in semi-crystalline polymers under dynamic loading. By applying it to the semi-crystalline polymer at moderate and high speed loadings, the damage evolution is measured and it is observed that the damage evolution is not strain rate dependent but the failure strain on the contrary is strain rate dependent.