Improvements in the structural analysis of a composite material T-joint structure

In this work, a T-joint structure made of woven fabric carbon/epoxy composite has been numerically investigated, using the commercial software LS-DYNA, by referring to previous experimental tests performed by the authors. The analyzed component can be considered as a simplified version of the real T-joint which connects the B-pillar and the longitudinal rocker in car body structure. Its mechanical behavior under transverse bending has been firstly evaluated through a series of experimental tests and then simulated with transient nonlinear finite element analysis with explicit time integration. The goal is to properly account nonlinear effects and improve the accuracy of the finite element prediction. In particular, the attention has been posed on the nonlinearities due to the manufacturing process and design of the experimental setup. Parameters related to the material properties and to the compliance of constraints are carefully considered to understand their influence on the load-carrying capacity and the failure mode of the structure. By properly setting those parameters in LS-DYNA environment, a very good agreement between experimental and numerical simulation results is obtained.