Learning Forum

[22liamharlan]

Hello! I'm a senior engineering student, looking for help with a school project. I need to know if I can use LS-Dyna to model a puncture test of a composite wall. First, whether LS-Dyna can handle the intricacies of modeling a fabric-matrix composite, and second, whether I can use FEA to model a puncture test of said composite. Any help or guidance here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Ram Gopisetti]

Hi, 

Before you get started with FEA modelling, I strongly suggest you do a literature review on the topic of your research. Here is a great starting point: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322309370_Effects_of_ply_orientation_and_material_on_the_ballistic_impact_behavior_of_multilayer_plain-weave_aramid_fabric_targets. This paper discusses LS-Dyna's capabilities for macro-model-based fabrics subjected to impact, a similar loading condition to puncture, where failure occurs due to deliberate penetration of an effector into a fabric. 

From here, you can explore advanced methods for representing fabrics using material models and element formulations, and adding boundary conditions and loads to mimic your load case, without a macro model, to reduce the number of elements and computational time. 

Then you can use this forum to post issue/modelling specifc question based on what challenges you face to get better recommendations and guides from us, Ansys/Synopsys employees, or peers worldwide. 

Cheers, Ram