A damage tolerant bio-inspired integrated composite stiffener via AFP - Numerical parametric study for final specimen design

To obtain a specimen design which would achieve fracture propagation following local buckling of the skin, but prior to global buckling, I parameterised a numerical model utilising python scripting. The effect of various parameters were investigated, including: the loading length, notch length, and specimen length. Various boundary conditions were also investigated, varying the region potted at the top and bottom edge, and the use of skin stability tabs in the loading region. Here is the parametric script used to create the numerical models.