Abstract: The progressive damage model was established to simulate failure of a carbon fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite L-joint. A modified form of Hashin Damage and Apalak stiffness degradation were adopted to damage evolution of composite laminates, and cohesive element was adopted to simulate interlaminar damage initiation and the final failure were predicted. The results show that the progressive failure model can accurately simulate the tensile failure process of the L-joint, and the failure type mainly includes the crack of glue layer, the tensile failure of the matrix at the bottom of filler area and the delamination failure of the laminates.

Key words: composite, L-joints, progressive failure, cohesive element