Coupled space-time multiscale simulations of dynamic delamination tests

The aim of this work was to numerically investigate the dynamic debonding of a thin composite laminate from a rigid substrate. The laminate is elastic and the separation surface behaviour is governed by a cohesive softening law. By way of simplification, the bending dominated deflection of the free part of the laminate is described through the Euler - Bernoulli kinematics. In this context, the partial differential equation governing the laminate motion is characterized by two length scales and two time scales. To accurately simulate the growth of delamination, a coupled space-time multiscale integration was used. The qualifying features of such an approach are: i) a fine spatial discretization across the process zone, where the evolution of the cohesive tractions demands a detailed description; ii) a high order accurate time integration algorithm, capable of damping spurious high frequency oscillations of the solution. The results of a two-stage peel test testify to the good performance of the approach applied.