A publication of the Advanced Simulation & Computing Division, NA-121.2, NNSA Defense Programs
September 2008
NA-ASC-500-08—Issue 8
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Collaborative Campaign Funding Aids Researchers to Develop New Modeling Capabilities
Researchers in Sandia’s ASC Verification and Validation Program, leveraging funding from NW Campaign 6 experiments, have developed new failure modeling capabilities within Sandia’s SIERRA Mechanics software framework. This new capability permits quasistatic and dynamic modeling of complex failure modes in composite materials, which are used in many weapon and non-weapon applications. This study employed Sandia’s DAKOTA software toolkit to generate over 800 SIERRA simulations, which were used to optimize parameters in the composite material failure models to match experimental test data, and, to perform sensitivity studies that identified the most critical parameters out of SIERRA’s 37-parameter material failure model.
In addition to providing new capabilities to SIERRA, the results of this study were presented in a paper titled, “Modeling Interlaminar Failure Using Cohesive Zone Models,” at the 23rd Technical Conference for the American Society for Composites, (September 9-11, 2008). The results were also documented in a Sandia technical report, “Mode II Fracture—Simulations and Experiments.”
Each black dot in these figures represents results from one of the 800 sets of parameters chosen using LHS. The vertical red hash marks represent the 95% confidence interval for the model fit.
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