Global/local capabilities of MUL2 for the nonlinear analysis of composite structures

MUL2 is an in-house finite element (FE) platform whose structural formulation is based on the Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF). This work presents some of the latest capabilities of CUF and MUL2 concerning the structural analysis of complex composite structures. The modelling exploits global/local techniques and the node-dependent-kinematics (NDK) recently proposed within CUF. Assessments consider the evaluation of failure indexes along free edges, the tensile strength of notched specimens, and failure progression. Performances are evaluated in terms of accuracy and computational costs, and perspectives on advanced NDK modelling are drawn.