Temperature-Dependent modelling of tension, in-Plane shear, and bending behaviour in non-isothermal thermo-Stamping process simulation of unidirectional UHMWPE fibre reinforced thermoplastic TPU composites

This study proposes a macroscopic finite element modelling and simulation approach considering the temperature dependency of both in-plane membrane and out-of-plane bending behaviours. This approach enables the investigation of the effect of the deformation mechanisms on the quality of the formed thermoplastic composite parts during the thermo-forming process. The temperature-dependent constitutive model of the in-plane tensional behaviour is considered linear, whereas the in-plane shear stiffness is modelled based on the nonlinear hypoelastic constitutive equation. The out-of-plane bending behaviour is considered by decoupling the membrane and bending method. A numerical simulation strategy is developed by implementing the ABAQUS software via a VUMAT subroutine. Moreover, a modified method is introduced for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the wrinkling intensity generated in the forming process. The validated strategy is used to investigate the influences of the various temperature conditions of the forming process and the underlying mechanisms to optimise the thermo-stamping process.