HeliusMCT UsersGuide Abaqus

Users Guide
Helius:MCT Version 4.0 for ABAQUS

February 1, 2011

Abstract

This document describes the use of Helius:MCT for Abaqus/Standard in performing enhanced finite
element analysis of composite structures.

For questions, comments or further information, contact Firehole Composites at support@firehole.com.

Legal Notices

Copyright 2011, Firehole Technologies, Inc.

Helius:MCT is a trademark of Firehole Technologies, Inc. Any use of the Helius:MCT trademark requires the prior
written consent of Firehole Technologies, Inc.

Abaqus/Standard is a trademark of Dassault Systemes S.A. and Dassault Systemes SIMULIA Corp.

Helius:MCT Users Guide Abaqus Page 2 of 113
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION TO HELIUS:MCT ................................................................................................... 5
1.1 A NOTE ON THE HELIUS:MCT- LINEAR VERSION ............................................................................ 5
1.2 HELIUS:MCT INTERACTION WITH ABAQUS/STANDARD .................................................................... 6
1.3 HELIUS:MCT SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION ..................................................................................... 8
2 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ABAQUS INPUT FILES .......................................................... 10
2.1 IDENTIFICATION AND DEFINITION OF HELIUS:MCT MATERIALS ....................................................... 10
2.2 DEFINITION OF EXTRANEOUS STIFFNESS PARAMETERS FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF ELEMENTS ............ 11
2.3 NONLINEAR SOLUTION CONTROL PARAMETERS FOR HELIUS:MCT ................................................ 11
2.4 REQUESTING OUTPUT OF SOLUTION VARIABLES THAT ARE UNIQUE TO HELIUS:MCT ...................... 12
3 USING ABAQUS/CAE TO CREATE ABAQUS INPUT FILES FOR USE WITH HELIUS:MCT ...... 13
3.1 CREATING COMPOSITE MATERIALS WITH THE HELIUS:MCT PLY GUI ............................................. 13
3.2 CREATING COHESIVE MATERIALS WITH THE HELIUS:MCT COHESIVE GUI...................................... 22
3.3 SPECIFYING EXTRANEOUS STIFFNESS PARAMETERS REQUIRED BY CERTAIN ELEMENT TYPES ........ 25
3.4 STEP MODIFICATIONS ................................................................................................................. 26
3.5 REQUESTING MCT STATE VARIABLE OUTPUT FOR COMPOSITE MATERIALS ................................... 28
3.6 REQUESTING MCT STATE VARIABLE OUTPUT FOR COHESIVE MATERIALS ..................................... 30
3.7 DELETING A HELIUS:MCT MATERIAL ........................................................................................... 30
4 USING A TEXT EDITOR TO CONVERT PRE-EXISTING ABAQUS INPUT FILES FOR USE WITH
HELIUS:MCT .................................................................................................................................. 31
4.1 DEFINING A HELIUS:MCT COMPOSITE MATERIAL ......................................................................... 31
4.2 DEFINING A HELIUS:MCT COHESIVE MATERIAL ............................................................................ 38
4.3 MODIFYING THE SECTION DEFINITIONS ........................................................................................ 39
4.4 MODELING ISSUES FOR IMPOSING TEMPERATURE CHANGES ......................................................... 41
4.5 NONLINEAR SOLUTION CONTROL PARAMETERS FOR HELIUS:MCT ................................................ 41
4.6 REQUESTING OUTPUT OF THE MCT STATE VARIABLES ................................................................. 42
4.7 MODELING DAMAGE TOLERANCE IN COMPOSITE MATERIALS ......................................................... 43
5 RUNNING HELIUS:MCT ON LINUX................................................................................................ 45
6 EXAMINING HELIUS:MCT RESULTS WITH ABAQUS/VIEWER ................................................... 46
6.1 USING CONTOUR PLOTS TO VIEW THE MCT STATE VARIABLES ....................................................... 46
6.2 DETECTION OF GLOBAL STRUCTURAL FAILURE .............................................................................. 51
APPENDIX A USER MATERIAL CONSTANTS FOR COMPOSITE MATERIALS .......................... 55
APPENDIX A.1 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #1: SYSTEMS OF UNITS ................................................... 56
APPENDIX A.2 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #2: PRINCIPAL MATERIAL COORDINATE SYSTEM ............... 58
APPENDIX A.3 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #3: PROGRESSIVE FAILURE ANALYSIS .............................. 61
APPENDIX A.4 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #4: PRE-FAILURE NONLINEARITY ..................................... 63
APPENDIX A.5 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #5: POST-FAILURE NONLINEARITY AND ENERGY-BASED
DEGRADATION........................................................................................................... 64
APPENDIX A.6 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #6: HYDROSTATIC STRENGTHENING................................. 70
APPENDIX A.7 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #7: THERMAL RESIDUAL STRESSES ................................. 71
APPENDIX A.10 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #10: NOT CURRENTLY USED ........................................... 73
APPENDIX A.11 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #11: AVERAGE ELEMENT THICKNESS ............................... 73
APPENDIX A.12 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #12: MATRIX POST-FAILURE STIFFNESS / MATRIX
DEGRADATION ENERGY ............................................................................................... 1
APPENDIX A.13 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #13: FIBER POST-FAILURE STIFFNESS / FIBER DEGRADATION
ENERGY ..................................................................................................................... 3
APPENDIX B USER MATERIAL CONSTANTS FOR COHESIVE MATERIALS ............................... 5

APPENDIX B.1 USER MATERIAL CONSTANT #1: DAMAGE CRITERIA ...................................................... 5
APPENDIX B.2 USER MATERIAL CONSTANTS #2-4: MATERIAL STIFFNESS ............................................. 6
APPENDIX B.3 USER MATERIAL CONSTANTS #5-7: DAMAGE INITIATION ................................................ 6
APPENDIX B.4 USER MATERIAL CONSTANTS #8-11: DAMAGE EVOLUTION ............................................ 7
APPENDIX C EXTRANEOUS STIFFNESS PARAMETERS ............................................................ 10
APPENDIX C.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE EXTRANEOUS STIFFNESS PARAMETERS ...................................... 11
APPENDIX C.2 FORMATTING OF THE EXTRANEOUS STIFFNESS PARAMETERS....................................... 13
APPENDIX C.3 CALCULATION OF EXTRANEOUS STIFFNESS PARAMETERS ............................................ 16
APPENDIX C.4 USING ABAQUS/CAE TO INSERT THE EXTRANEOUS STIFFNESS PARAMETERS................ 24
APPENDIX D MCT STATE VARIABLES FOR COMPOSITE MATERIALS .................................... 27
APPENDIX E MCT STATE VARIABLES FOR COHESIVE MATERIALS ....................................... 36
APPENDIX F TROUBLESHOOTING ............................................................................................... 37
APPENDIX F.1 MANUAL RESOLUTION OF KEYWORD CONFLICTS PRODUCED BY ABAQUS/CAE .............. 37
APPENDIX F.2 SYSTEM ERROR CODES ............................................................................................. 39

Table of Figures

FIGURE 1: SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF THE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS OF THE HELIUS:MCT SOFTWARE
AND THEIR INTERACTION WITH THE ABAQUS/STANDARD SOFTWARE COMPONENTS ...................... 7
FIGURE 2: THE HELIUS:MCT PLY GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE (GUI) .............................................. 14
FIGURE 3: KEYWORDS EDITOR SHOWING THE KEYWORD STATEMENTS THAT COLLECTIVELY DEFINE A
HELIUS:MCT MATERIAL................................................................................................................... 22
FIGURE 4: HELIUS:MCT COHESIVE GUI IN ABAQUS/CAE..................................................................... 23
FIGURE 5: LOCATION OF INCREMENTATION PARAMETERS IN THE EDIT STEP DIALOG BOX .................. 27
FIGURE 6: GENERAL SOLUTION CONTROLS EDITOR DIALOG BOX ........................................................ 28
FIGURE 7: LOCATIONS OF SDV AND SECTION POINT OUTPUT PARAMETERS IN THE EDIT FIELD
OUTPUT REQUEST DIALOG BOX ...................................................................................................... 29
FIGURE 8: KEYWORDS CONFLICT DIALOG BOX ...................................................................................... 30
FIGURE 9: LOCATION OF SECTION POINTS WITHIN AN ELEMENT CONTAINING 4 MATERIAL PLIES ........ 43
FIGURE 10: CONTOUR PLOT OPTIONS DIALOG BOX ............................................................................... 47
FIGURE 11: COMPARISON OF A BANDED CONTOUR PLOT AND A QUILT CONTOUR PLOT USING THREE
DISCRETE COLOR CONTOURS TO REPRESENT DISTRIBUTION OF SDV1=1,2,3 ............................ 48
FIGURE 12: SECTION POINTS DIALOG BOX ............................................................................................ 49
FIGURE 13: ENVELOPE, QUILTED CONTOUR PLOTS OF SDV1 AT SEVERAL DIFFERENT POINTS IN TIME
DURING A PROGRESSIVE FAILURE ANALYSIS .................................................................................. 50
FIGURE 14: 8-PLY COMPOSITE PLATE UNDER IMPOSED AXIAL DISPLACEMENT .................................... 52
FIGURE 15: THE GLOBAL STRUCTURAL FORCE IS OBTAINED BY SUMMING THE VERTICAL REACTIONS
FORCES AT ALL NODES ALONG THE TOP EDGE OF THE COMPOSITE PLATE ................................... 52
FIGURE 16: GLOBAL STRUCTURAL FORCE VS. GLOBAL STRUCTURAL DEFORMATION .......................... 53
FIGURE A17. THE FIBER DIRECTION FOR EACH ELEMENT IS INDICATED BY THE RED LINES ................. 59
FIGURE A18: HELIUS:MCT SOLUTION FOR FAILURE PROPAGATION IN THE 0 PLIES OF A COMPOSITE
LAMINATE LOADED IN TENSION ........................................................................................................ 62
FIGURE A19: COMPARISON OF PREDICTED VS. MEASURED LONGITUDINAL SHEAR RESPONSE FOR A
TYPICAL FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITE LAMINA. ......................................................................... 63

FIGURE A20: HELIUS:MCT STRESS-STRAIN SOLUTIONS FOR THE CENTRAL 90 PLY WITHIN A (0/90/0)
LAMINATE UNDER AXIAL TENSION, SHOWING THE EFFECT OF INCLUDING THE POST-FAILURE
NONLINEARITY FEATURE .................................................................................................................. 65
FIGURE A21: STRESS/STRAIN RESPONSE FOR A LINEAR DEGRADATION USING ENERGY-BASED
DEGRADATION. ................................................................................................................................. 66
FIGURE A22 ENERGY-BASED LINEAR DEGRADATION INTERVAL PARTITIONING. ................................... 68
FIGURE A23 LINEAR DEGRADATION FOR LARGE ENERGY PROBLEM USING SECANT MODULUS
INTERVAL DIVISIONS. ....................................................................................................................... 69
FIGURE B24. TYPICAL COHESIVE MATERIAL TRACTION-DISPLACEMENT CURVE. ................................... 8
FIGURE B25. COHESIVE MATERIAL RESPONSE........................................................................................ 9
FIGURE C26: HELIUS:MCT GUI WITH IM7_8552 SELECTED AS A MATERIAL ...................................... 18
FIGURE C27: ABAQUS COMMAND WINDOW FROM WHICH TO RUN THE DATACHECK ANALYSIS ........... 19
FIGURE C28: SEQUENCE OF COMMANDS TO RUN A DATACHECK ANALYSIS ......................................... 20
FIGURE C29: LOCATIONS OF SECTION POISSONS RATIO, THICKNESS MODULUS, AND TRANSVERSE
SHEAR STIFFNESS SETTINGS IN THE EDIT COMPOSITE LAYUP DIALOG BOX ................................ 24
FIGURE C30: LOCATIONS OF HOURGLASS STIFFNESS SETTINGS IN THE ELEMENT TYPE DIALOG BOX 25
FIGURE C31: LOCATION OF HOURGLASS STIFFNESS PARAMETERS IN THE KEYWORDS EDITOR ......... 26
FIGURE F32. THE PROCESS OF ACCESSING THE KEYWORD EDITOR IN ABAQUS/CAE ...................... 38
FIGURE F33: KEYWORDS EDITOR, SHOWING A KEYWORD CONFLICT CAUSED BY AN EXTRANEOUS
*DEPVAR STATEMENT ................................................................................................................... 39

Functionality not available in
Helius:MCT Linear
1 Introduction to Helius:MCT
Helius:MCT is composed of a set of software modules and a composite material library that
integrate seamlessly with the Abaqus/Standard finite element analysis system, providing the user with
state-of-the-art material modeling capability for unidirectional and woven fiber-reinforced composite
materials. Helius:MCT utilizes a form of multiscale material modeling that is based on Multicontinuum
Theory (MCT) which has been under continuous joint development by the University of Wyoming and
Firehole Composites over the past 15 years. The MCT modeling methodology provides an unsurpassed
combination of accuracy, efficiency and convergence robustness in predicting damage evolution and
material failure in composite materials.

In sharp contrast to traditional continuum mechanics, where physical quantities of interest (e.g.,
stress and strain) are averaged over the entire heterogeneous microstructure of the composite material,
MCT retains the identities of the distinct material constituents within the microstructure. Consequently,
physical quantities of interest (e.g., stress and strain) are averaged over each individual constituent
material. These constituent average quantities provide much deeper insight into the thermo-mechanical
behavior of the composite material than the traditional composite average quantities. To briefly
summarize, MCT focuses on two concepts: 1) the development of relationships between the various
constituent average quantities of interest, and 2) the development of relationships that link the composite
average quantities to the constituent average quantities. For a complete discussion of MCT and the
advantages that it provides in the analysis of composite materials, refer to the Helius:MCT Theory
Manual.

Additionally, Helius:MCT can provide delamination predictions using Abaqus cohesive elements
(COH2D4 and COH3D8) defined with a Helius:MCT Cohesive user material. The delamination model
uses some of the same material models provided by Abaqus/Standard, however, Helius:MCT provides
robust convergence. Helius:MCT allows analyses to use both ply level and cohesive level progressive
failure models without a significant increase in analysis time.
1.1 A Note on the Helius:MCT- Linear Version
Firehole Composites also offers a limited-functionality version of Helius:MCT referred to as
Helius:MCT-Linear. Helius:MCT-Linear provides users access to advanced multi-scale analysis,
constituent level stress and strain values and multi-scale failure indices when running linear elastic finite
element simulations.

Helius:MCT-Linear does not provide access to many of the advanced, nonlinear functionalities that
are available in the full version of Helius:MCT such as progressive failure modeling, material non-
linearity, cohesive functionality and other advanced features.

In an effort to delineate in this document the features that are not available in the Linear version of
Helius:MCT, the following graphic will be displayed when describing a feature that requires a license to
the full-featured version of Helius:MCT.

1.2 Helius:MCT Interaction with Abaqus/Standard
In an Abaqus structural-level finite element analysis of a composite structure, Helius:MCT
quickly and accurately decomposes the composite average stress/strain field into constituent average
stress/strain fields. The constituent average stress states are then used by Helius:MCT to predict damage
evolution and material failure individually for each constituent material that is present in the
microstructure. Subsequently, Helius:MCT homogenizes the current damaged microstructure in order to
provide an accurate assessment of the current composite average stiffness for use in the structural-level
finite element analysis. Helius:MCT is designed to provide this enhanced composite modeling capability
without significantly increasing the time required to run the structural-level finite element analysis. For
example, using Helius:MCT to enhance a structural-level finite element analysis usually increases the
time required to perform a single structural-level equilibrium iteration by only two to three percent (a very
small price to pay for the increased solution accuracy provided by Helius:MCT). However, Helius:MCT
is specifically developed to increase the convergence robustness of structural-level progressive failure
simulations; consequently, analyses that are enhanced by Helius:MCT are more likely to successfully
resolve the entire load history while using fewer total equilibrium iterations.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the individual components of the Helius:MCT software and
their interaction with the Abaqus/Standard software components. In Figure 1, bold rectangles indicate the
components of the Abaqus/Standard finite element modeling package, while ovals indicate the individual
components of the Helius:MCT software. In Figure 1, the Helius:MCT Graphical User Interface (GUI) is
accessed from within Abaqus/CAE and assists the user in defining the Abaqus input file parameters that
are required during a finite element analysis that employs Helius:MCT. The Helius:MCT User-Defined
Material Subroutine (see Figure 1) calculates constitutive relations and computes stresses for the
Abaqus/Standard finite element code. The Helius:MCT User-Defined Material Subroutine contains all of
the MCT constitutive relations for the individual constituents (fiber and matrix) and the homogenized
composite material. In addition, the Helius:MCT User-Defined Material Subroutine contains the
constituent-based failure criteria and the nonlinear constituent damage algorithms which degrade the
stiffness of the constituents and the homogenized composite material to reflect the current damage state
of the composite. The Abaqus/Standard finite element code calls the Helius:MCT User-Defined Material
Subroutine at each Gaussian integration point in the model where constitutive relations or stresses are
requested.

In Figure 1, the Helius:MCT Composite Material Library is used to store all of the material
coefficients that are needed to completely define the MCT multiscale material model for various
composite materials. Before a particular composite material can be used in a Helius:MCT-enhanced
finite element model, the composite material must undergo MCT material characterization, and a unique
material file must be added to the Helius:MCT Composite Material Library. As shown in Figure 1, the
Helius:MCT User-Defined Material Subroutine opens and reads the Helius:MCT Composite Material
Library to extract the necessary material coefficients for any composite materials that are used in the
finite element model. Note that material libraries are not necessary for Helius:MCT cohesive materials.
Since the number of inputs required to define a cohesive material are much less than a composite, the
entire material is defined within the Abaqus input file.

Abaqus/Standard
Helius:MCT
User-Defined
Material Subroutine
Helius:MCT
Composite Material
Library
Abaqus/CAE
Helius:MCT
Graphical User
Interface (GUI)
Helius:MCT
Graphical User
Interface (GUI)
Abaqus input file
Abaqus/Viewer
Abaqus output file

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the individual components of the Helius:MCT software and
their interaction with the Abaqus/Standard software components

In addition to the software modules depicted in Figure 1, Helius:MCT contains two additional
auxiliary programs: Helius Material Manager and xSTIFF. Helius:Material Manager is a stand-alone
program that allows the user to characterize new composite materials and add them to the Helius:MCT
Composite Material Library. xSTIFF is a stand-alone program that greatly simplifies the creation of
Helius:MCT-compatible Abaqus input files by automatically calculating and inserting any extraneous
stiffness parameters that are required by elements that use reduced integration . Note that xSTIFF is not
required for analyses that use strictly Helius:MCT cohesive materials.

1.3 Helius:MCT Support Documentation
This Users Guide assumes the reader is familiar with the basic use and concepts of the
Abaqus/Standard finite element modeling system, including the following three processes:

1) Creating input files for Abaqus/Standard,
2) Running Abaqus/Standard finite element analyses, and
3) Viewing the results from an Abaqus/Standard finite element analysis.

Given this assumption, the purpose of this document is to describe those aspects of creating an Abaqus
input file that are unique to finite element analyses that utilize Helius:MCT for enhanced multiscale
modeling of fiber-reinforced composite structures. In addition, this document discusses appropriate
methods for viewing the enhanced results that are available in the output file when Helius:MCT is used in
the finite element analysis.

The remainder of this document is organized as follows:

Section 2 This section identifies the Abaqus keyword statements that should be present in an
Abaqus input file to achieve compatibility with Helius:MCT and take full
advantage of its superior convergence characteristics for nonlinear problems.
Section 3 This section describes the use of Abaqus/CAE to create Abaqus input files that are
compatible with Helius:MCT. More specifically, Section 3 describes the use of the
Helius:MCT Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) that are accessed from within
Abaqus/CAE.
Section 4 For users who choose to employ a text editor to manually create their Abaqus input
files, Section 4 describes the process of manually converting existing Abaqus input
files to achieve compatibility with Helius:MCT.
Section 5 For users who want to run Helius:MCT on Linux this section describes the
necessary steps to do so.
Section 6 Finally, this section describes each of the enhanced solution variables that are
computed by Helius:MCT during a finite element simulation, and describes the use
of Abaqus/Viewer to view the enhanced MCT results.

The collective documentation for Helius:MCT is divided into several documents. These documents
are listed below along with a brief description of each one.

The installation guide explains the installation of the Helius:MCT software on your
computer.
Helius:MCT Installation Guide

The users guide is a general reference for using Helius:MCT to provide enhanced
composite modeling capabilities for Abaqus/Standard finite element analyses of
composite structures.
Helius:MCT Users Guide

The Material Manager Users Guide provides step-by-step guidelines for using the Helius
Material Manager, a convenient graphical user interface (GUI) for creating a material file
required to execute a Helius:MCT analysis.
Helius Material Manager Users Guide

xSTIFF is a command line program that reads an Abaqus input file and automatically
computes and inserts all of the extraneous stiffness parameters that are required by any
reduced integration elements that utilize Helius:MCT composite materials. This auxiliary
program significantly improves the speed and accuracy of the model building process.
xSTIFF Users Guide

The Theory Manual provides an in-depth explanation of MCT theory and discusses the
various features that are implemented in the Helius:MCT User-Defined Material
Subroutine. In addition, the Theory Manual describes the important process of
characterizing a composite material for use with the MCT decomposition.
Helius:MCT Theory Manual

These documents are step-by-step tutorials that demonstrate the use of Helius:MCT. The
primary emphasis is the creation of Abaqus input files that are compatible with
Helius:MCT and the viewing of special solution variables that are computed by
Helius:MCT.
Helius:MCT Tutorials 1, 2, 3 and 4
Tutorial 1 demonstrates the ply-based functionality of Helius:MCT and the use of
Abaqus/CAE in building an Abaqus input file .
Tutorial 2 demonstrates the process of manually converting an existing Abaqus
input file to achieve compatibility with Helius:MCT.
Tutorial 3 demonstrates the use of Abaqus/CAE and Helius:MCT Linear in
building an Abaqus input file.
Tutorial 4 demonstrates the cohesive-based functionality of Helius:MCT and the
use of Abaqus/CAE in building an Abaqus input file.

The example problem documents provide examples of how to use the functionality
provided by Helius:MCT to execute a finite element analysis of a composite structure.
Helius:MCT Example Problems 1, 2, and 3
Example Problem 1 details how the mesh density and element type affect a
typical composite structure analysis and compares the Helius:MCT progressive
failure analysis capabilities with the built in Abaqus composite analysis
functionality.
Example Problem 2 details how to use the pre-failure nonlinearity functionality
of Helius:MCT to get the most accurate analysis of a composite structure.
Example Problem 3 demonstrates the use of temperature dependent material
properties and residual thermal stresses.

Tutorials 1 & 2
Include progressive
failure functionality
not available in
Helius:MCT Linear
Example Problem2
include pre-failure
nonlinearity not
available in
Helius:MCT Linear
Example Problem1
includes progressive
failure analysis that
is not available in
Helius:MCT Linear

2 General Requirements for Abaqus Input Files
This section identifies the keyword statements that should be present in an Abaqus input file to
ensure complete compatibility with Helius:MCT and to take full advantage of its superior convergence
characteristics for nonlinear, progressive failure problems. More specifically, this section explains the
need for these keyword statements in terms of the unique characteristics of Helius:MCT. This section
does not discuss the formatting requirements of any keyword statement, nor
3
does it discuss any of the
specific options or data of any keyword statement; these issues are covered in Sections and 4.

2.1 Identification and Definition of Helius:MCT Materials
If Helius:MCT is used to provide the constitutive relations for a particular composite or cohesive
material, then Abaqus/Standard considers the material to be a 'user-defined material type.' Consequently,
Abaqus/Standard requires the following three keyword statements for each user-defined material type
that is used in the finite element model:

1. *MATERIAL,
2. *USER MATERIAL, and
3. *DEPVAR.

A detailed description of each of these keywords and their functionality in Abaqus/Standard can be found
in the Abaqus Keywords Reference Manual; however, their use in defining materials for Helius:MCT is
briefly described below.

The *MATERIAL keyword statement is used to identify the name of the composite or cohesive
material. When defining a composite material the name must precisely match the name of a composite
material that is stored in the Helius:MCT composite material database. For more information on how to
create a material file that can be added to the Helius:MCT composite material database, please refer to the
Helius Material Manager Users Guide.

The *USER MATERIAL keyword statement identifies the material as a user-defined material
type. In addition, the data and options of the *USER MATERIAL keyword statement are used by
Helius:MCT to identify the specific type of multiscale constitutive relations that should be used for the
material.

The *DEPVAR statement is used to request storage space within Abaqus/Standard for the MCT
state variables that must be tracked at each integration point in the model.

The specific data and options of the *MATERIAL, *USER MATERIAL, and *DEPVAR
keyword statements (along with their formatting requirements) are discussed in Sections 3 and 4. For
now, it suffices that the reader is aware that the *MATERIAL, *USER MATERIAL, and *DEPVAR
keyword statements will be used collectively to identify each of the composite materials that will be
processed by Helius:MCT and to identify the specific form of the multiscale constitutive relations that
will be used for each of the composite materials.

Nonlinear solution
control parameters
are not required for
simulations using
Helius:MCT Linear
2.2 Definition of Extraneous Stiffness Parameters for Certain Types of Elements
Certain types of Abaqus elements (e.g., shell elements and reduced integration elements) require
extraneous stiffness parameters in order to stabilize their response to deformation modes whose stiffness
is not provided by material constitutive relations. Depending on the specific type of element, these
extraneous stiffness parameters may include one or more of the following: transverse shear stiffnesses,
hourglass control stiffnesses, thickness modulus, and thickness Poisson ratio. Provided that the finite
element model uses only standard Abaqus material types, Abaqus/Standard will automatically compute
all of the required extraneous stiffness parameters at runtime. However, when the finite element model
contains user-defined material types, Abaqus/Standard cannot automatically compute all of the extraneous
stiffness parameters that are required. In that case, the Abaqus input file must explicitly define any
required extraneous stiffness parameters. These extraneous stiffness parameters are defined as options or
data in the various section keyword statements (e.g., *SOLID SECTION, *SHELL SECTION, etc.).
Please refer to Appendix C.1 of this User's Guide for a description of the extraneous stiffness parameters
that are required for various element types.

In earlier versions Helius:MCT, the calculation of these extraneous stiffness parameters and their
insertion in the Abaqus input file required a rather cumbersome manual procedure that is described in
detail in Appendices C.2-C.4 of this User's Guide. However, Helius:MCT now includes a new auxiliary
program (xSTIFF) that automatically calculates and inserts the required extraneous stiffness parameters
into the Abaqus input file. The use of xSTIFF is highly recommended as it greatly accelerates the model
building process, while at the same time minimizing the chance for errors to be introduced into the input
file. For more information on using xSTIFF to automatically calculate and insert the required extraneous
stiffness parameters into the Abaqus input file, please refer to the xSTIFF Users Guide.

Note that extraneous stiffness parameters are not required for cohesive sections, so running xSTIFF
is not required for analyses that strictly use Helius:MCT cohesive materials.

2.3 Nonlinear Solution Control Parameters for Helius:MCT
It is a widely accepted notion that good convergence (or any convergence at all) is difficult to
achieve in a progressive failure simulation of a composite structure. In fact, many progressive failure
simulations terminate early, not due to global structural failure, but rather due to the inability of the finite
element code to obtain a converged solution at a particular load increment.
Helius:MCT significantly improves the overall convergence rate and
robustness of finite element simulations of progressive failure of composite
structures. Experienced users of Abaqus/Standard are no doubt familiar with
the codes tendency to reduce (or cut-back) the time increment size when the
code senses that convergence is difficult to achieve. However, when
Helius:MCT is used in conjunction with Abaqus/Standard to perform a
progressive failure analysis, the increased robustness of the solution greatly
diminishes the need for time incrementation reductions (or cut-backs), thus the analysis can be completed
much faster than without the use of Helius:MCT. In order to take full advantage of the superior
convergence characteristics of Helius:MCT, the user must change some of the default settings that govern
the nonlinear solution process used by Abaqus/Standard. These changes can be enacted using the
*CONTROLS keyword statement.

In Abaqus/Standard, the default settings for the nonlinear solution process are based on the
fundamental assumption of the Newton-Raphson algorithm that the nonlinear response of the composite
structure is sufficiently smooth at both the local and global levels. However, in a progressive failure

simulation of a composite structure, the nonlinear response of the composite structureis not

smooth,
especially at the local level, and it is this situation that is primarily responsible for the difficulty in
obtaining convergence. Helius:MCT is specifically designed to efficiently handle this localized jagged
material response; however, the default settings of Abaqus/Standard must be changed in order to allow
Helius:MCT to improve the convergence characteristics of the finite element simulation. These default
settings can be changed via the data line of the *CONTROLS keyword statement. In this case, the data
line of the *CONTROLS keyword statement is used to significantly increase the number of equilibrium
iterations that Abaqus/Standard will perform before the code evaluates the need for a reduction (or cut-
back) in time step size.
The specific data and options that are used with the *CONTROLS keyword statement is discussed
in Sections 3.4 and 4.5. For now, it suffices that the reader is aware that the *CONTROLS keyword
statement is used to provide Helius:MCT with the freedom to drastically improve the speed and
robustness of convergence in progressive failure simulations.

2.4 Requesting Output of Solution Variables that are Unique to Helius:MCT
Helius:MCT calculates a number of specialized state variables that define the constituent average
stress and strain fields, in addition to the damage state of the composite material. These state variables
are stored by Abaqus/Standard at each individual integration point within the finite element model. To
allow these state variables to be examined in Abaqus/Viewer, the Abaqus input file must explicitly
identify the state variables that will be written in the Abaqus output file. This request is made via the data
lines of the *ELEMENT OUTPUT keyword statement. Specific usage and formatting of the
*ELEMENT OUTPUT keyword statement are discussed in Sections 3 and 4. For now, it should be
understood that the *DEPVAR and the *ELEMENT OUTPUT keywords allow the user to request which
solution dependent state variables should be available for post-processing. Appendices D and E of this
User's Guide contains a detailed description of each of the MCT state variables for composite and
cohesive materials.

3 Using Abaqus/CAE To Create Abaqus Input Files For Use With
Helius:MCT
Section 3 describes the use of Abaqus/CAE to create an Abaqus input file that is completely
compatible with Helius:MCT. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the process of using
Abaqus/CAE to create an Abaqus input file. Consequently, this section focuses primarily on those
aspects of model creation that are unique to models utilizing Helius:MCT. In particular, this section
explains the use of the two Helius:MCT Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) that can be accessed from
within Abaqus/CAE. The Helius:MCT Ply GUI provides a simple, intuitive means for the user to create
composite material definitions that are compatible with Helius:MCT. The Helius:MCT Cohesive GUI
allows the user to create cohesive material definitions for delamination predictions in Helius:MCT.

3.1 Creating Composite Materials with the Helius:MCT Ply GUI
Each composite material that is processed by Helius:MCT is considered by Abaqus/Standard to
be a user-defined material type. The Helius:MCT Ply GUI provides a simple means of creating these
composite material definitions in the Abaqus input file. Helius:MCT Ply allows the user to select a
composite material from the Helius:MCT composite material database and then select a number of
different options for the multiscale constitutive relations that will be used to define the thermomechanical
response of the composite material.

To open the Helius:MCT Ply GUI from within Abaqus/CAE, go to the main toolbar and select
Plug-ins Helius:MCT - Ply. The GUI will appear as shown in Figure 2.


Figure 2: The Helius:MCT Ply Graphical User Interface (GUI)

As shown in Figure 2, there are sixteen possible steps involved in using the Helius:MCT Ply GUI to
define a composite material type for Helius:MCT. Each of the fifteen steps is discussed below.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
15
16
13
14

1. Composite Material Selection The user selects a composite material from the Helius:MCT
material library. If the material library does not contain a composite material that the user would
like to use in an analysis, a material data file must first be created and added to the material
library (refer to Helius Material Manager Users Guide). Once a composite material is selected,
the homogenized (or composite average) engineering constants for that material will be displayed
in the box labeled Engineering Constants for Your Selected Composite. These constants are
displayed in Helius:MCTs default system of units (N/m/K). To display these constants in a
different coordinate system, the user may select a different system of units (see step 2).

2. System of Units The user selects the system of units that should be used by Helius:MCT to
compute constitutive relations and stresses. By default, Helius:MCT expresses constitutive
relations and computes stress in the (N/m/K) system of units. If the finite element model is
created using a different system of units, then Helius:MCT must convert its constitutive
calculations to the system of units required by the finite element model. For such purposes,
Helius:MCT contains conversion factors for four commonly used systems of units: N/m/K,
N/mm/K, lb/in/R, and lb/ft/R. If the finite element model uses one of these four systems of units,
the user must select the appropriate system from the drop-down list. In the event that the finite
element models system of units does not appear in the drop-down list, the user should select the
default system of N/m/K and then refer to Appendix A.1 for details on how to manually modify
the Abaqus input file to utilize a custom system of units. The reader can also refer to Appendix
A.1 for more detailed information on systems of units in general.

3. Principal Material Coordinate System Helius:MCT expresses constitutive relations and
computes stresses in the principal material coordinate system of the composite material. Here the
user selects one of two or three possible orientations for the composites principal material
coordinate system.

For Unidirectional Microstructures

: Helius:MCTs default principal material coordinate
system is oriented with the 1 direction aligned with the fiber direction, while the 2 and 3
directions lie in the materials plane of transverse isotropy. This default orientation of the
principal material coordinate system corresponds to the selection of "1" from the fiber
direction drop down menu. However, in situations where it adds convenience or simplicity to
the model creation process, the user may change the orientation of the principal material
coordinate system so that the 2 direction is aligned with the fiber direction, while the 1
and 3 directions lie in the composite materials plane of transverse isotropy. This particular
orientation of the principal material coordinate system corresponds to the selection of "2"
from the fiber direction drop down menu. If the user selects the value 2 from the drop-
down list, the Helius:MCT GUI updates the contents of the display box labeled Engineering
Constants for Your Selected Composite.
For Woven Microstructures: Helius:MCTs default principal material coordinate system is
oriented with the 1 direction aligned with the fill tow direction, while the 2 direction
corresponds to the warp tow direction, and the 3 direction corresponds with the out-of-plane
direction. This default orientation of the principal material coordinate system corresponds to
the selection of "1" from the fiber direction drop down menu. However, in situations where it
adds convenience or simplicity to the model creation process, the user may change the
orientation of the principal material coordinate system so that the 2 direction is aligned with
the fill tow direction, while the 1 direction corresponds to the warp tow direction. This
particular orientation of the principal material coordinate system corresponds to the selection
of "2" from the fiber direction drop down menu. Additionally, the user may change the

Steps 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 listed below do not apply to Helius:MCT Linear
orientation of the principal material coordinate system so that the 3 direction is aligned with
the fill tow direction while the 2 direction corresponds to the warp tow direction. This
particular orientation of the principal material coordinate system corresponds to the selection
of "3" from the fiber direction drop down menu.

For more information on the orientation of principal material coordinate systems, please refer to
Appendix A.2.

4. Temperature Dependence (unidirectional composites only) If a list of temperatures is
displayed, then the material data file for the selected material contains material properties at
multiple temperatures. After selecting a temperature, the properties that are stored for that
temperature are displayed in the Engineering Constants for Your Selected Composite. During a
finite element analysis, Helius:MCT linearly interpolates the composite and constituent properties
for any given temperature that lies within the bounds of the lowest and highest temperature points
stored in the material file. For temperatures below the lowest stored temperature datum,
Helius:MCT will use the material properties stored at the lowest temperature datum (Helius will
not extrapolate properties beyond the bounding stored temperature data points). The same is true
for temperatures above the highest stored temperature datum. For further information on the use
of temperature dependent material properties in Helius:MCT, please refer to section 9 of the
Helius:MCT Theory Manual. For further information on adding a new temperature dependent
material to the Helius:MCT material library, please refer to the Helius:MCT Material Manager
Users Guide.

5. Progressive Failure - The user chooses whether or not to perform a Progressive Failure
Analysis. If the user checks this box, then Helius:MCT will routinely evaluate both the matrix
failure criterion and the fiber failure criterion to determine if either constituent has failed. Each
constituent failure criterion is based on the corresponding constituent average stress state. In the
event that one or both of the constituents fail, the stiffness of the failed constituent(s) and the
stiffness of the composite are appropriately reduced instantaneously. It should be emphasized
that an instantaneous reduction of the stiffness of a failed constituent effectively results in a
discontinuous, piecewise linear stress/strain response for the constituent and the composite.
However, when this type of discrete material response is applied independently at each of the
integration points in a large finite element model, the net result is a gradual (or progressive)
degradation of the overall stiffness of the composite structure (hence the name Progressive

Failure Analysis).
The progressive failure analysis feature is the foundation component of Helius:MCTs
nonlinear multiscale constitutive relations. Other aspects of material nonlinearity can be invoked
(as shown in steps 6, 7 and 8); however, these additional forms of nonlinearity cannot be
activated unless the progressive failure analysis feature is also activated. Consequently, if the
user chooses not to check the progressive failure analysis box, then Helius:MCT will use linear
elastic constitutive relations. For further information on progressive failure analyses and
constituent failure criteria, refer to Appendix A.3 of this User's Guide and Section 4 of the
Helius:MCT Theory Manual.

6. Calculate Failed Plain Weave Properties - (plain weave composites only) Selecting this option
will force Helius:MCT to calculate the failed plain weave properties using the matrix and fiber
degradation levels specified in steps 11 and 12. If this option is not selected, the failed material
properties that were calculated when the material data file was created using Helius:Material
Manager are used. For example, if the matrix degradation value was 0.7 and the fiber
degradation value was 0.015 when the material was created (using Helius Material Manager) and
this option is unselected, the failed material properties corresponding to a matrix degradation of
0.7 and a fiber degradation of 0.015 are used. If, on the other hand, this option is selected and, for
example, the user specifies a matrix degradation of 0.8 and a fiber degradation of 0.001 in steps
11 and 12, then the failed material properties corresponding to a matrix degradation of 0.8 and a
fiber degradation of 0.001 are used. Note: The matrix degradation for woven lamina is
recommended to be not less than 0.7.

7. Hydrostatic Strengthening of the Composite (unidirectional composite only) The user
chooses whether or not to account for the experimentally observed strengthening of the composite
in the presence of a hydrostatic compressive stress. If the user checks this box, then Helius:MCT
will monitor the hydrostatic compressive stress level in the matrix constituent. If the hydrostatic
compressive stress level in the matrix constituent exceeds a threshold value, then the strength of
both the matrix constituent and the fiber constituent are scaled upwards commensurate with the
level of hydrostatic compressive stress level in the matrix constituent. For further information on
Hydrostatic Strengthening of the Composite, refer to Appendix A.6 of this User's Guide and
Section 7 of the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.

8. Energy-Based Degradation (unidirectional composites only) The user chooses whether or not
to use an Energy-Based approach to degrade composite stiffness as a function of increasing
strain. If the user checks this box, then Helius:MCT will employ a piecewise linear degradation of
composite stiffness after a failure event, while conserving the total energy supplied by the user.
The type of failure event (i.e. fiber or matrix failure) determines which composite stiffnesses are
reduced linearly with increasing strain. In this case, the constituent failure criteria are assumed to
simply identify the onset of a failure event. As the deformation of the lamina continues to
increase, the stiffness of the composite is subject to a series of discrete reductions until the
stiffness of the composite finally reaches its minimal level indicating complete failure of the
constituent.

It is of importance to note a consistent set of material properties is enforced between the
microscopic and macroscopic scales to allow for the composite material properties to degrade
along with the matrix after the matrix constituent fails. For instance, a matrix failure event will
result in a linear degradation of composite E
c
22
, E
c
33
, G
c
12
, G
c
13
and G
c
23
, while also degrading
matrix E
m
11
, E
m
22
, E
m
33
, G
m
12
, G
m
13
and G
m
23
. However, a fiber failure event will result in a linear
degradation of composite E
c
11
, G
c
12
and G
c
13

, but the constituents are no longer degraded as the
stresses and strains in the constituents are no longer useful. It should be emphasized that this
feature and Post-Failure Nonlinearity are mutually exclusive for all analyses. For further
information on Energy-Based degradation and its impact on analyses, refer to Appendix A.5 of
this User's Guide and the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.
9. Pre-Failure Nonlinearity (unidirectional composites only) The user chooses whether or not to
account for the nonlinear longitudinal shear stress/strain response that is commonly observed in
fiber-reinforced composite materials. If the user checks this box, then Helius:MCT will employ a
four-segment, piecewise linear representation of the longitudinal shear stress/strain response

(i.e.,
c
12

vs.

c
12
, and
c
13

vs.

c
13

), while the responses of the other four stress and strain components
remain unaffected by this feature. The entire series of three discrete reductions in the longitudinal
shear moduli of the composite is conducted in such a way that the piecewise linear longitudinal
shear response closely matches experimentally measured longitudinal shear data for the
composite.
It should be emphasized that this feature is only available for those unidirectional
composite materials where a longitudinal shear stress/strain curve was supplied during the MCT
material characterization process. If this feature is requested for a composite material that was
characterized without a longitudinal shear stress/strain curve, then Helius:MCT will issue an error
message at runtime and execution will halt. For further information on the Pre-Failure
Nonlinearity feature, refer to Appendix A.4 of this User's Guide, Section 5 of the Helius:MCT
Theory Manual, and Example Problem 2. For further information on characterizing new
composite materials with Pre-Failure Nonlinearity capability, please refer to the Helius:MCT
Material Manager Users Guide.

10. Post-Failure Nonlinearity (unidirectional composites only) The user chooses whether or not to
account for the support that is provided to a failed lamina by the surrounding un-failed lamina.
When individual matrix cracks appear in a lamina, the surrounding undamaged lamina are able
(via interlaminar shear stresses) to divert the load path around the individual matrix cracks and
back into the failed lamina. The net result of this process is that matrix failure in a lamina is not a
discrete catastrophic event, rather it is a gradual process marked by a gradual increase in the
density of matrix cracks. In this case, the matrix failure criterion is assumed to simply identify
the onset of matrix crack development. As the deformation of the lamina continues to increase,
the stiffness of the matrix constituent is subject to a series of discrete reductions until the stiffness
of the matrix constituent finally reaches its minimal level indicating complete matrix failure (i.e.,
matrix crack saturation). It is of importance to note a consistent set of material properties is
enforced between the microscopic and macroscopic scales to allow for the composite material
properties to degrade along with the matrix.

It should be emphasized that this feature is only available for those unidirectional
composite materials where the transverse normal failure strain was supplied during the MCT
material characterization process. If this feature is requested for a composite material that was
characterized without a transverse normal failure strain, then Helius:MCT will issue an error
message at runtime and execution will halt. This feature is also mutually exclusive with the
Energy-Based Degradation option discussed above. For further information on the Post-Failure
Nonlinearity feature, refer to Appendix A.5 of this User's Guide and Section 6 of the Helius:MCT
Theory Manual. For further information on characterizing new composite materials with Post-
Failure Nonlinearity capability, please refer to the Helius:MCT Material Manager Users Guide.

11. Residual Stresses (applicable to unidirectional composites only) This option is used to specify
whether or not to explicitly account for thermal residual stresses in the response of the composite
material. If this option is checked, then Helius:MCT computes the ply-level and constituent-level
thermal residual stresses that are caused by the post-cure cool down from the stress-free
temperature displayed under Engineering Constants for Your Selected Composite to ambient
temperature (defaults to 72.5F =22.5C =295.65K). In this case, these ply-level and
constituent-level thermal residual stresses will be present prior to the application of any external
mechanical and/or thermal loads that are imposed during the simulation. If the user chooses to
explicitly account for thermal residual stresses in the analysis, then the user should verify that the

stress-free temperature (synonymous with cure temperature) displayed under Engineering
Constants for Your Selected Composite is indeed a reasonable value; otherwise, the predicted
thermal residual stresses could be quite erroneous.

If this option is not checked for a particular composite material, then thermal residual
stresses are not

included in the response of that particular composite material during the
simulation. In this case, the stress free temperature of the composite material defaults to T
sf
=0
(regardless of the system of units employed), and the temperature change that is used in the
constitutive relations [ =C(T)] is simply computed as T =T T
sf
=T. Several points
should be emphasized here. First, the stress free temperature T
sf
defaults to 0 even if the
composite material data file (Mdata file) explicitly defines a non-zero stress free temperature.
Second, regardless of the system of units that are employed by the finite element model, the
current temperature T completely defines the temperature change T that is used in the
constitutive relations. Third, for composite materials that are characterized at multiple
temperatures, the current temperature T will be used to interpolate the various material properties
that contribute to the constitutive relations; consequently, it is recommended that a single-
temperature characterization (i.e., a single-temperature Mdata file) should be used for the
composite material in question. In summary, if the user does not request this option, then the
current temperature T influences Eqs. 10.1 of the Theory Manual in two different ways: 1) the
temperature change used in the constitutive relations simply becomes T=T, and 2) T is used to
interpolate the temperature-dependent material properties that contribute to the constitutive
relations. Refer to Section 10 of the Helius:MCT Theory Manual for further information on the
thermal residual stresses formulation used by Helius:MCT.
It should be emphasized that the default temperature in Abaqus/Standard is 0. This
default temperature is completely compatible with the default stress free temperature of 0 that is
assumed when the seventh user material constant is specified as 0. In this case, the model can
still be subjected to temperature changes by simply imposing a temperature other than 0;
however, these thermal stresses develop over the course of the analysis, as opposed to being
present at the start of the analysis.

12. Matrix Post-Failure Stiffness / Matrix Degradation Energy For analyses not using Energy-
Based Degradation, this value is a fraction that is used to define the damaged elastic moduli of the
matrix constituent after matrix constituent failure occurs. Specifically, the value is the ratio of the
failed matrix constituent moduli to the unfailed matrix constituent moduli. A value of 0.1 would
mean that after a matrix failure occurs at an integration point, all six of the matrix constituent
moduli (E
m
11
, E
m
22
, E
m
33
, G
m
12
, G
m
13
, G
m
23

) are reduced to 10% of the original undamaged matrix
constituent moduli. The matrix post-failure stiffness value must be greater than 0, and less than
or equal to 1. By default, the matrix post-failure stiffness value is set to 0.1. If the post-failure
nonlinearity feature is turned on, this value will be ignored.
For analyses using Energy-Based Degradation, this value is the total energy dissipated
before and after a matrix failure assuming a linear degradation of composite stiffness after a
failure event. Specifically, composite E
c
22
, E
c
33
, G
c
12
, G
c
13
, G
c
23

are degraded after a matrix failure
event according to this energy, the composite stress state at fiber failure and the volume of the
element. For more information on the computation of the energy values, refer to Appendix A.5
of this document and the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.

13. Fiber Post-Failure Stiffness / Fiber Degradation Energy For analyses not using Energy-
Based Degradation, this value is a fraction that is used to define the damaged elastic moduli of the
fiber constituent after fiber constituent failure occurs. Specifically, the value is the ratio of the
failed fiber constituent moduli to the unfailed fiber constituent moduli. A value of 0.01 would
mean that after a fiber failure occurs at an integration point, all six of the fiber constituent moduli
(E
f
11
, E
f
22
, E
f
33
, G
f
12
, G
f
13
, G
f
23

) are reduced to 1% of the original undamaged fiber constituent
moduli. The fiber post-failure stiffness value must be greater than 0, and less than or equal to 1.
The default value of the fiber post-failure stiffness is automatically set to 1E-06.
For analyses using Energy-Based Degradation, this value is the total energy dissipated for
a fiber failure assuming a linear degradation of composite stiffness before and after a fiber failure
event. Specifically, composite E
c
11
, G
c
12
, and G
c
13

are degraded linearly after a fiber failure event
according to this energy, the composite stress state at fiber failure, and the volume of the element.
For more information on the computation of the energy values, refer to Appendix A.5 of this
document and the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.
14. Average Element Thickness (unidirectional composite only) If Energy-Based Degradation is
selected for unidirectional materials, this value represents the average thickness of the three-
dimensional elements assigned to the material, where the thickness is measured through the
thickness of the laminate. For two-dimensional elements (i.e. shells, plane stress), this value
should be set to 1.0.

15. Output Constituent Average Stress and Strain States The user chooses whether or not to
output the fiber average stress and strain fields and the matrix average stress and strain field to the
output database file (.odb file). If the user checks this box for a unidirectional composite, then the
number of MCT state variables output to the .odb file increases from 6 to 34 (10 to 34 if Energy-
Based Degradation is requested). If the user checks this box for a woven composite, then the
number of MCT state variables output to the .odb file increases from 6 to 90. Printing these extra
state variables increases the total run time slightly and significantly increases the size of the .odb
file. Thus, this option should only be selected if the constituent average stress and strain states
are of interest to the user.

16. Name State Dependent Variables The user chooses whether or not to allow the Helius:MCT
GUI to re-name the first 6 MCT state variables (or 10 if Energy-Based Degradation is requested).
If the user checks this box, then the first 6 MCT state variables will be re-named from their
Abaqus default names (SDV1, SDV2, , SDV6) to descriptive names. See Appendix D for a
complete description of each of the MCT state variables.

Warning: Invoking this feature might cause Abaqus/CAE to produce input files that contain
conflicting keywords. See Appendix F for a description of this problem and the suggested method
of resolving this issue.

After completing steps 1 through 16, the user should click the OK button on the Helius:MCT GUI to
create a user-defined composite material that is compatible with Helius:MCT. Once the OK button is
clicked, a new material will be created and the appropriate Abaqus keyword statements are created for the
new user-defined composite material. The newly created Abaqus keyword statements (*MATERIAL,
*DEPVAR, and *USER MATERIAL) can be viewed in the Keywords Editor. To access the Keywords
Editor from the main toolbar, select Model Edit Keywords Name of Model. Figure 3 shows an
example of the Keyword Editor containing the *MATERIAL, *DEPVAR, and *USER MATERIAL

keyword statements. The following list describes each of the Abaqus keyword statements that are shown
in Figure 3.

*Material, name=IM7_8552 creates a material and assigns it the name IM7_8552. Note that the
name IM7_8552 was selected via Step 1 from the pull-down list of materials in the Helius:MCT
composite material database.

*DepVar creates storage space for 6 MCT state variables that Abaqus/Standard will track at each
integration point in the finite element model. If the user had requested output of the constituent
average stress and strain states via Step 12, the number of MCT states variables would increase to
34. Note that each of the 6 MCT state variables is being re-named; for example, SDV1 is re-
named MAT_STATE, and SDV2 is re-named FI_MATRIX. This re-naming is only present in
the *DEPVAR statement if the user checks the Name State Dependent Variables box via Step
15. Otherwise, the Abaqus default names will be used (SDV1, SDV2, , SDV6).

*User Material, constants=13 identifies the material as a user-defined material that employs 13
different constants to specify information needed in the definition of the material. The values of
these 13 constants are listed in the data line as 1., 1., 1., 0., 0., 0., 0., 0., 0., 0., 0., 0.1, 0.01. These
constants (referred to as user material constants) are used by the Helius:MCT User-Defined
Material Subroutine to convey the specific choices made by the user in completing Steps 2
through 13 of the Helius:MCT GUI. The thirteen constants, in order, pertain to the system of
units, the orientation of the principal material coordinate system, progressive failure analysis, pre-
failure nonlinearity, post-failure nonlinearity or energy-based degradation, hydrostatic
strengthening, stress free temperature, (constants 8-11 are currently unused), matrix post-failure
stiffness or matrix degradation energy, and fiber post-failure stiffness or fiber degradation energy.
For user material constants 3, 4, 6, and 7, a value of 1 means the option is on, and a value of 0
means the option is off. For user material constant 5, a value of 0 indicates both post-failure
nonlinearity and energy-based degradation are turned off, a value of 1 indicates post-failure
nonlinearity is turned on, and a value of 2 indicates energy-based degradation is turned on. In
this example, the default system of units (N/m/K) is selected; the principal material coordinate
system is oriented with the 1 direction aligned with the fiber direction; progressive failure
analysis is turned on, pre-failure nonlinearity is turned off; post-failure nonlinearity and
energy-based degradation are turned off, hydrostatic strengthening is turned off, the stress free
temperature is set to zero, matrix post-failure stiffness is set to 10%, and fiber post-failure
stiffness is set to 1%.

Note: Appendix A provides a complete description of each of the user material constants.


Figure 3: Keywords Editor showing the keyword statements that collectively define a Helius:MCT material

3.2 Creating Cohesive Materials with the Helius:MCT Cohesive GUI
Each cohesive material that is processed by Helius:MCT is considered by Abaqus/Standard to be
a user-defined material type. The Helius:MCT Cohesive GUI provides a simple means of creating these
cohesive material definitions in the Abaqus input file. Helius:MCT Cohesive allows the user to fully
define the cohesive material including damage initiation and damage evolution parameters.

To open the Helius:MCT Cohesive GUI from within Abaqus/CAE, go to the main toolbar and
select Plug-ins Helius:MCT - Cohesive. The GUI will appear as shown in Figure 4.


Figure 4: Helius:MCT Cohesive GUI in Abaqus/CAE

As shown in Figure 4, there are fifteen possible steps involved in using the Helius:MCT Cohesive GUI to
define a cohesive material type for Helius:MCT. Each of the fifteen steps is discussed below. See
Appendix B for a technical discussion of these parameters.

1. Material Name - Enter the name of your material. This name will be displayed under the
Materials tree in Abaqus/CAE once the material is added.

2. Normal Stiffness - A number greater than zero which defines the normal stiffness, K
nn
, of the
cohesive material. K
nn
relates the normal traction in the cohesive material to the strain as

t
n
=K
nn
n

where t
n
is the normal traction and
n
is the strain in the normal direction (local 3-direction).

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10-12
13
14
15

3. First Shear Stiffness - A number greater than zero which defines the first shear stiffness, K
ss
, of
the cohesive material. K
ss
relates the traction in the local 1-direction in the cohesive material to
the strain as

t
s
=K
ss
s

where t
s
is the first shear traction and
s
is the strain in the local 1-direction

4. Second Shear Stiffness - A number greater than zero which defines the second shear stiffness,
K
tt
, of the cohesive material. K
tt
relates the traction in the local 2-direction in the cohesive
material to the strain as

t
t
=K
tt
t

where t
t
is the second shear traction and
t
is the strain in the local 2-direction.

5. Maximum Normal Traction - A number greater than zero which represents the maximum
amount of traction the cohesive material can sustain in the normal direction (local 3-direction)
before damage initiates, S
n
.

6. Maximum First Shear Traction - A number greater than zero which represents the maximum
amount of traction the cohesive material can sustain in the local 1-direction before damage
initiates, S
s
.

7. Maximum Second Shear Traction - A number greater than zero which represents the maximum
amount of traction the cohesive material can sustain in the local 2-direction before damage
initiates, S
t
.

8. Damage Initiation Criterion - Allows the user to select a maximum traction or quadratic based
damage initiation criterion. The maximum traction criterion defines damage initiation as the point
when any of the tractions meet or exceed their corresponding maximum traction value. The
quadratic based criterion uses a quadratic interaction of the traction to maximum traction ratios to
predict damage initiation.

9. Softening Type - Allows the user to select how damage will evolve after damage initiation. Once
damage initiates in a cohesive material the stiffness of the material decreases as material
deformation increases. Eventually, the stiffness of the cohesive material will reduce to zero and
the material will no longer sustain any load. For a softening type of "Displacement" see step 10
below, for "Energy" see step 11, and for "Energy (Mixed Mode, Power Law)" see steps 12-15.

10. Displacement At Failure - A number greater than zero which defines the difference between the
effective displacement at complete failure and the effective displacement at damage
initiation,
m
f
-
m
o

.
11. Fracture Energy - A number greater than zero which defines the total energy dissipated due to
failure, G
C
. In mathematical terms, this value is the area under the traction - separation curve.

12. Normal Mode Fracture Energy - A number greater than zero which defines the total energy
dissipated due to failure under a pure normal mode, G
n
C
.


13. First Shear Mode Fracture Energy - A number greater than zero which defines the total energy
dissipated due to failure under a pure first shear mode, G
s
C

.
14. Second Shear Mode Fracture Energy - A number greater than zero which defines the total
energy dissipated due to failure under a second shear normal mode, G
t
C

.
15. Alpha - The exponent used in the mixed mode power law damage evolution equation, .

3.3 Specifying Extraneous Stiffness Parameters Required by Certain Element
Types

Certain types of Abaqus elements (e.g., beam elements, shell elements, and reduced integration
elements) require extraneous stiffness parameters in order to stabilize their response against deformation
modes that are not governed directly by material constitutive relations. These extraneous stiffness
parameters are defined as either options or data in the Section keyword statement that is referenced by the
element in question. Depending upon the specific type of element being used, one or more of the
following types of extraneous stiffness parameters may need to be specified as part of the Section
definition that is referenced by the element.

Section Poisson Ratio
Section Thickness Modulus
Section Transverse Shear Stiffnesses: K
ts
11
, K
ts
22
, and K
ts
12
Membrane Hourglass Stiffness Control Parameter

Bending Hourglass Stiffness Control Parameter

Appendix B.1 provides a detailed discussion of each type of extraneous stiffness parameter, in addition to
listing the specific extraneous stiffness parameters that are required by each type of element.

In earlier versions of Helius:MCT, the calculation of these extraneous stiffness parameters and their
detail in Appendices C.2-C.4 of this User's Guide. However, Helius:MCT now includes an auxiliary
building process, while at the same time minimizing the chance for errors to be introduced into the input
file. With the availability of xSTIFF, the user can now postpone the task of defining the extraneous
stiffness parameters until the model building process is completed and an Abaqus input file is saved.
xSTIFF can then be run to automatically add any required extraneous stiffness parameters to the saved
Abaqus input file. For more information on using xSTIFF to automatically calculate and insert the
required extraneous stiffness parameters into the Abaqus input file, please refer to the xSTIFF Users
Guide.

Note that if the analyses uses exclusively Helius:MCT cohesive materials (in addition to Abaqus
material types), xSTIFF is not required. It is only required for analyses that use Helius:MCT ply
materials.

Step modifications referenced below are only applicable
to the full version of Helius:MCT as they pertain to
progressive failure simulations.
Note: If the user chooses to manually define the extraneous stiffness parameters, Appendices C.1-C.4
completely describe the processes of identifying the required extraneous stiffness parameters,
calculating their values, and inserting the correctly formatted values into the Abaqus input file.

3.4 Step Modifications
Helius:MCT significantly improves the overall convergence rate and robustness of finite element
simulations of progressive failure of composite structures. However, in order to take full advantage of the
superior convergence characteristics of Helius:MCT, the user must change some of the default settings
that govern the nonlinear solution process used by Abaqus/Standard. This section discusses the use of
Abaqus/CAE to make the recommended changes to the parameters that govern the nonlinear solution
process used by Abaqus/Standard.

It is recommended that the user specify the time incrementation parameters that are desired in the
progressive failure analysis. Since the use of Helius:MCT provides more robust convergence, it is
anticipated that the progressive failure analysis will require far fewer time incrementation reductions (or
cut-backs) than would be possible without Helius:MCT. This characteristic may influence the users
choice of time incrementation parameters. The time incrementation parameters can be specified from the
Incrementation Tab in the Edit Step dialog box as shown in Figure 5. There are four settings that can be
changed: the maximum allowable number of time increments, the value of the initial time increment, the
minimum allowable value of a time increment, and the maximum allowable value of a time increment.

For analyses that use Helius:MCT cohesive materials, the Extrapolation parameter should be set to
None. This can be set from the Other tab shown in Figure 5.


Figure 5: Location of incrementation parameters in the Edit Step dialog box

The user also should change some of the default settings that control the nonlinear solution process
employed by Abaqus/Standard. These solution control parameters can be changed in the General
Solution Controls Editor dialog box. The General Solution Controls Editor dialog box can be accessed
from the Step module by clicking Other General Solution Controls Edit name of step from
the main toolbar. The General Solution Controls Editor dialog box is shown in Figure 6 with the Time
Integration Tab selected. In Figure 6, there are two parameters shown with their default values (I
o
=4 and
I
R
=8). Both of these parameters should be set to the same large value, say 1000 (e.g., I
o
=1000 and
I
R
=1000).

After specifying the values of I
o
and I
R
, click the first of the three tabs that are labeled more.
From the list of parameters that appears, the values of I
P
,

I
C
, I
L
and I
S
should each be set to 1000, and the
value of I
T
should be set to 10. The greatly increased values of I
o
, I
R
, I
P
,

I
C
, I
L
and I
S
will ensure that
Abaqus/Standard can take full advantage of the improved convergence characteristics provided by
Helius:MCT. For a complete discussion of the effect that Helius:MCT exerts on the convergence
behavior of the finite element solution, see Section 11 of the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.


Figure 6: General Solution Controls Editor dialog box

3.5 Requesting MCT State Variable Output for Composite Materials

The solution-dependent MCT state variables are used to track constitutive quantities of interest at
each integration point in the finite element model. If the user checked the box labeled Output
Constitutive Stress/Strain in the Helius:MCT Ply GUI, then 34 MCT state variables are tracked for
unidirectional composite materials or 90 MCT state variables are tracked for woven composite materials;
otherwise, 6 MCT state variables are tracked for analyses not using energy-based degradation, and 10
MCT state variables are tracked for analyses requesting the use of energy-based degradation. The default
naming convention for the solution-dependent MCT state variables is SDVi, where i=1, 2, 3, , 6 or 10
or 34 or 90. The most useful of the MCT state variables is SDV1 which is used to track the discrete
failure state of the composite material at each integration point in the finite element model. The exact
interpretation of the discrete values of SDV1 will depend upon the specific set of Helius:MCT material
nonlinearity features that are used in the analysis. Appendix D provides a complete description of each of
the MCT state variables, including tables that define the interpretation of the discrete values of SDV1 for
various combinations of material type and material nonlinearity features invoked.

By default, the MCT state variables are not automatically written to the output database file (*.odb
file) and must be explicitly requested. Output of the MCT state variables can be requested by the user in

the Edit Field Output Request dialog box, which can be accessed from the Step module by clicking
Output Field Output Requests Edit Name of output request in the main toolbar. To
request MCT state variable output, select the box labeled "SDV, Solution Dependent State Variables"
from the scroll-bar list of output variables shown in Figure 7.

By default, the field variables (including the MCT state variables) are only output at the bottom
and top section points of each layered element. In order to view the field variables within each material
ply, additional section points can be specified by entering their values in the text box that is highlighted in
Figure 7. As an example, consider a flat composite plate with 4 plies and 3 section points per ply, for a
total of 12 section points as shown in Figure 9. If the default section point values are used, only results
for points 1 and 12 will available for viewing; the user will not have access to the results for the interior
material plies. However, if output is requested for each section point, then the complete solution results
for each ply can be viewed.

Figure 7: Locations of SDV and section point output parameters in the Edit Field
Output Request dialog box

3.6 Requesting MCT State Variable Output for Cohesive Materials
State variables for Helius:MCT cohesive materials are requested in a similar manner to requesting
state variables for composite materials (Section 3.5). However, it is slightly less complex since cohesive
elements do not contain section points and therefore do not require output to be requested at individual
section points. The number of state variables for cohesive materials is always 9. See Appendix E for a list
and description of the state variables for Helius:MCT cohesive materials.

3.7 Deleting a Helius:MCT Material
Deleting a material is usually accomplished by simply deleting the material from the model tree or
the Material Manager. Because a Helius:MCT material is a user-defined material type, Abaqus/CAE will
not automatically delete the *USER MATERIAL or *DEPVAR statements that are part of the material
definition. In light of this situation, the procedure for deleting a Helius:MCT material from a finite
element model is listed below.

1. Delete the material from the model tree or the Material Manager. The Material Manager can be
accessed by clicking Material Manager in the main toolbar. To delete the material from the
model tree, right click on the material and select Delete.
2. To remove the keywords that are associated with the deleted material, open the Helius:MCT GUI
by clicking Plug-ins Helius:MCT from the main toolbar. Helius:MCT will automatically
detect that the material has been deleted and a dialog box will appear as shown in Figure 8.
Clicking Continue in this dialog box will result in the removal of the *USER MATERIAL and
*DEPVAR statements associated with the deleted Helius:MCT material. The Helius:MCT GUI
then reloads and appears on the screen.
3. Within the Helius:MCT GUI, the user can now click the Cancel button to dismiss the
Helius:MCT GUI.

Figure 8: Keywords conflict dialog box

4 Using a Text Editor to Convert Pre-Existing Abaqus Input Files for
Use with Helius:MCT
For those users who choose to employ a text editor to manually create and modify their Abaqus
input files, this section describes the process of modifying an existing Abaqus input file to achieve
complete compatibility with Helius:MCT.

4.1 Defining a Helius:MCT Composite Material
In an Abaqus input file, there are three different keyword statements that collectively define a
Helius:MCT user-defined composite material. These three keyword statements are *MATERIAL,
*DEPVAR, and *USER MATERIAL. Consider the following lines from an Abaqus input file that
completely specify a Helius:MCT user-defined composite material.

*MATERIAL, name=I M7_8552
*DEPVAR
6
1, MAT_STATE
2, FI _MATRI X
3, FI _FI BER
4, ETA_SM
5, ETA_NM
6, SI M_O
*USER MATERIAL, const ant s=13
1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
0, 0, 0, 0. 1, 0. 01

The *MATERIAL keyword denotes the start of the material definition, and the option
name=I M7_8552 is used to specify the name of the composite material. The name IM7_ 8552
must exactly match the name of a material found in the Helius:MCT composite material database and a
name specified in the section definition of the input file.

The *DEPVAR keyword is used to identify the number of solution-dependent MCT state variables
that must be tracked at each integration point in the finite element model. The number of solution-
dependent MCT state variables is specified on the first data line that follows the *DEPVAR statement. In
this example, there are 6 solution-dependent MCT state variables. The remaining data lines that follow
the *DEPVAR keyword statement are optional and are simply used to assign new names to each of the 6
MCT state variables. For example, MCT state variable 1 is re-named MAT_STATE, and state variable 2
is re-named FI_MATRIX. If these optional name assignments are not present, then the 6 MCT state
variables would simply retain their Abaqus defaults names of SDV1, SDV2, SDV3, , SDV6.
Allowable values for the number of MCT state variables requested in the *DEPVAR statement are the
minimal set of 6 if energy-based degradation is not requested, 10 if energy-based degradation is requested
(only for unidirectional composites), or the full set of 34 for unidirectional composites, or the full set of
90 for woven composites. It is highly recommended that for both unidirectional and woven composites,
the minimal set of 6 MCT state variables should be requested in the *DEPVAR statement unless the user
desires post-processing access to the constituent average stresses and strains. See Appendix D for a
complete description of the different MCT state variables that are available for unidirectional and woven
composite materials.

The third material
constant, while
required is not
utilized in
Helius:MCT Linear
and its value will
default to zero.
The *USER MATERIAL keyword indicates that the material is a user-defined material type. The
option constants=13 indicates that there are a total of 13 user material constants specified for the
material. Collectively, the user material constants are used by the Helius:MCT User-Material Subroutine
to determine the precise form of multiscale constitutive relations that will be used for the material.

For any given Helius:MCT material, the number of user material
constants must be between 3 and 16. The first three user material constants are
required for all Helius:MCT materials. The last three user material constants
(i.e., the 14
th
, 15
th
, and 16
th
constants) are only required if the finite element
model is defined using a custom system of units. User material constants 8-11
are not utilized and should be left blank or set to 0. Appendix A provides a
detailed description of each of the nine utilized user material constants,
including the range of allowable values for each constant and the impact that
each constant has on the multiscale constitutive relations used to represent the
material. Each of the nine user material constants typically defined in an analysis incorporating
Helius:MCT are listed below along with a brief description. For a more detailed description of any
particular user material constant, refer to the appropriate section of Appendix A.

System of Units The first user material constant specifies the system of units that should be
used by Helius:MCT in computing the constitutive relations and stresses. In the example
provided above, the first user material constant has a value of 1, indicating that Helius:MCT
should compute the constitutive relations and stresses in its default system of units (N/m/K).
There are three other systems of units (2 N/mm/K, 3 lb/in/R, and 4 lb/ft/R) that can be
requested via specific values of the first user material constant, in addition to a custom (or user-
defined) system of units. For more information on defining custom systems of units or more
information on systems of units in general, please refer to Appendix A.1 which provides a
detailed discussion of the first user material constant.

Principal Material Coordinate System Helius:MCT expresses constitutive relations and
computes stress in the principal material coordinate system of the composite material. The
second user material constant specifies the specific orientation of the principal material
coordinate system that will be used by Helius:MCT.

Unidirectional Microstructures: Helius:MCTs default principal material coordinate
system is oriented with the 1 direction aligned with the fiber direction, while the 2 and
3 directions lie in the materials plane of transverse isotropy. This default orientation of
the principal material coordinate system is selected by setting the second user material
constant to a value of 1. However, in situations where it adds convenience or simplicity
to the model creation process, the user may change the orientation of the principal
material coordinate system so that the 2 direction is aligned with the fiber direction,
while the 1 and 3 directions lie in the composite materials plane of transverse
isotropy. This alternative orientation of the principal material coordinate system is
selected by setting the second user material constant to a value of 2. In general, the
numerical value of the second user material constant identifies the specific principal
material axis that is aligned with the fiber direction. For more information, refer to
Appendix A.2 which provides a detailed discussion of the second user material constant.

Woven Microstructures: Helius:MCTs default principal material coordinate system is

corresponds to the warp tow direction and the 3 direction corresponds with the out-of-
plane direction. This default orientation of the principal material coordinate system is
selected by setting the second user material constant to a value of 1. However, in
situations where it adds convenience or simplicity to the model creation process, the user
may change the orientation of the principal material coordinate system so that the 2
direction is aligned with the fill tow direction, while the 1 direction corresponds to the
warp tow direction. This alternative orientation of the principal material coordinate
system is selected by setting the second user material constant to a value of 2.
Additionally, the user may change the orientation of the principal material coordinate
system so that the 3 direction is aligned with the fill tow direction while the 2
direction corresponds to the warp tow direction. This particular orientation of the
principal material coordinate system is selected by setting the second user material
constant to a value of 3. In general, the numerical value of the second user material
constant identifies the specific principal material axis that is aligned with the fill tow
direction. For more information, refer to Appendix A.2 which provides a detailed
discussion of the second user material constant.

Progressive Failure Analysis The third user material constant activates or deactivates
Helius:MCTs progressive failure analysis feature. If the progressive failure feature is activated,
then Helius:MCT will routinely evaluate both the matrix and fiber failure criterion to determine if
either constituent material has failed. Each constituent failure criterion is based on the
corresponding constituent average stress state. In the event that one or both of the constituents
fail, the stiffnesses of the failed constituent(s) and the stiffnesses of the composite are
appropriately reduced to the respective post-failure stiffnesses. It should be emphasized that the
progressive failure analysis feature is the foundation component of Helius:MCTs nonlinear
multiscale constitutive relations. Other aspects of material nonlinearity can be invoked via the
4
th
, 5
th
and 6
th
user material constants; however, these additional forms of nonlinearity cannot be
activated unless the progressive failure analysis feature is also activated. For more information
on the progressive failure analysis feature, refer to Appendix A.3 of this document and Section 4
of the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.

Unidirectional Microstructures: A value of 1 activates the progressive failure analysis
feature, while a value of 0 deactivates the progressive failure analysis feature.

Woven Microstructures: A value of 0 deactivates the progressive failure feature, a
value of 1 activates the progressive failure feature and uses the matrix and fiber
degradation levels from the material data file to calculate the failed material properties,
and a value of 2 activates the progressive failure feature and uses the matrix and fiber
degradations levels specified by the twelfth and thirteenth user material constants to
calculate the failed material properties. Selecting a value of 2 for plain weaves will add
approximately 45-60 seconds to the pre-processing time per woven material. A value of
1 will not add run-time during pre-processing because the failed material properties (at
the matrix and fiber degradation levels specified during material creation in Helius
Material Manager) are already stored in the material file.

Pre-Failure Nonlinearity (optional, for unidirectional composites only) The fourth user
material constant activates or deactivates Helius:MCTs Pre-Failure Nonlinearity feature. A
value of 1 activates the pre-failure nonlinearity feature, while the default value of 0 deactivates
the pre-failure nonlinearity feature. If the pre-failure nonlinearity feature is activated, then

Helius:MCT will explicitly account for the nonlinear longitudinal shear stress/strain response that
is typically observed in unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite materials. The Pre-Failure
Nonlinearity feature imposes a series of discrete reductions in the longitudinal shear stiffness of
the matrix constituent material, causing the composite materials nonlinear longitudinal shear
response to closely match experimentally measured data. It should be emphasized that the Pre-
Failure Nonlinearity feature only affects the longitudinal shear moduli of the composite
(i.e.,
c
12

vs.

c
12
, and
c
13

vs.

c
13

), while the responses of the other four composite stress and strain
components remain unaffected by this feature. Also, the Pre-Failure Nonlinearity feature will not
alter the shear stress level at which the composite fails; however, it will result in an overall
increase in longitudinal shear deformation of the composite prior to failure. For further
information on the Pre-Failure Nonlinearity feature, refer to Appendix A.4 of this document and
Note: The Pre-Failure Nonlinearity feature is only available for unidirectional composite
materials. The fourth user material constant is ignored by woven composites.

Post-Failure Nonlinearity and Energy-Based Degradation (optional, for unidirectional
composites only) The fifth user material constant activates or deactivates Helius:MCTs Post-
Failure Nonlinearity feature or Helius:MCTs Energy-Based Degradation feature. A value of 1
activates the Post-Failure Nonlinearity feature, a value of 2 activates the Energy-Based
Degradation feature, and the default value of 0 deactivates both the Post-Failure Nonlinearity and
Energy-Based Degradation features.

Post-Failure Nonlinearity: If the Post-Failure Nonlinearity feature is activated, then
Helius:MCT will gradually reduce the stiffness of the matrix constituent moduli to their
minimum values. When the Post-Failure Nonlinearity feature is activated, the matrix
failure criterion simply identifies the initiation of the matrix failure process (or the
initiation of matrix cracking). After the matrix failure criterion is triggered, the matrix
constituent stiffness is gradually reduced via a series of discrete stiffness reductions that
are applied as the matrix average strain state continues to increase beyond the level
present at failure initiation. For further information on Post-Failure Nonlinearity, refer to
Appendix A.5 of this document and Section 6 of the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.

Energy-Based Degradation: If the Energy-Based Degradation feature is activated, then
Helius:MCT will gradually reduce the stiffness of the composite moduli to their
minimum values in a linear fashion after a failure event has been detected while
conserving the energy given in the twelfth and thirteenth user material constants. If
three-dimensional elements are used with Energy-Based Degradation, the eleventh user
material constant represents the average thickness of the three-dimensional elements.
When the Energy-Based Degradation feature is activated, the constituent failure criteria
simply identify the initiation of the constituent failure process. After a failure criterion is
triggered, the composite stiffness is gradually reduced via a series of discrete stiffness
reductions that are applied as the composite strain state continues to increase beyond the
level present at failure initiation. The specific stiffness that is affected depends entirely on
the constituent failures that have been triggered. For further information on Energy-
Based Degradation, refer to Appendix A.5 of this document and the Helius:MCT Theory
Manual.

Note: Both the Post-Failure Nonlinearity and Energy-Based Degradation features are only
available for unidirectional composite materials. The fifth user material constant is
ignored by woven composites.

Note: The Post-Failure Nonlinearity and Energy-Based Degradation features are mutually
exclusive.

Note: The Post-Failure Nonlinearity feature is only available for those unidirectional
composite materials where the transverse tensile failure strain (
ult
22

) was supplied
during the MCT material characterization process. If this feature is requested for a
composite material that was characterized without a transverse tensile failure strain,
then Helius:MCT will issue an error message at runtime and execution will halt. For
more information on the MCT material characterization process, please refer to the
Helius Material Manager Users Guide.
Note: If the Post-Failure Nonlinearity feature is turned on, then the matrix post-failure
stiffness value (the twelfth user material constant) is ignored.

Note: If the Energy-Based degradation feature is turned on, then the twelfth and thirteenth
user material constants represent the energies dissipated for a matrix and fiber failure,
respectively.

Note: If the Energy-Based degradation feature is turned on, the minimum number of
solution-dependent MCT state variables must be increased from 6 to 10.

Hydrostatic Strengthening (optional, for unidirectional composites only) The sixth user
material constant activates or deactivates Helius:MCTs hydrostatic strengthening feature. A
value of 1 activates the hydrostatic strengthening feature, while the default value of 0 deactivates
the hydrostatic strengthening feature. If the hydrostatic strengthening feature is activated, then
Helius:MCT explicitly accounts for the experimentally observed strengthening of the composite
in the presence of a hydrostatic compressive stress. If the hydrostatic compressive stress in the
matrix constituent exceeds a threshold value, then the strength of both the matrix constituent and
the fiber constituent are scaled upwards commensurate with the level of hydrostatic compressive
stress level in the matrix constituent. For further information on the hydrostatic strengthening
feature, refer to Appendix A.6 of this document and Section 7 of the Helius:MCT Theory
Manual.

Note: The Hydrostatic Strengthening feature is only available for unidirectional composite
materials. The sixth user material constant is ignored by woven composites.

Thermal Residual Stress (optional, for unidirectional composites only) Theseventh user
material constant (0 or 1) is used to specify whether or not to explicitly account for thermal
residual stresses in the response of the unidirectional composite material. If theseventh user
material constant is specified as 1, then Helius:MCT computes the ply-level and constituent-level
thermal residual stresses that are caused by the post-cure cool down from the stress-free
temperature (i.e. cure temperature) to ambient temperature. In this case, the stress free
temperature is read from the material data file (Mdata file) and ambient temperature corresponds
to 72.5F, 22.5C or 295.65K. If theseventh user material constant is specified as 1, ply-level
and constituent-level thermal residual stresses will be present in the composite material prior to

the application of any external mechanical and/or thermal loads that are imposed during the actual
simulation. If the user chooses to explicitly account for thermal residual stresses in the analysis,
then the user should verify the material data file (Mdata file) actually contains a defined stress
free temperature; otherwise, the stress free temperature will default to 0 and the predicted
thermal residual stresses will be quite erroneous.

If theseventh user material constant is specified as the default value of 0, then thermal
residual stresses are not

included in the response of that particular composite material during the
simulation. In this case, the stress free temperature of the composite material defaults to T
sf
=0
(regardless of the system of units employed), and the temperature change that is used in the
constitutive relations [ =C(T)] is simply computed as T =T T
sf
=T. Several points
should be emphasized here. First, the stress free temperature T
sf
defaults to 0 even if the
composite material data file (Mdata file) explicitly defines a non-zero stress free temperature.
Second, regardless of the system of units that are employed by the finite element model, the
current temperature T completely defines the temperature change T that is used in the
constitutive relations. Third, for composite materials that are characterized at multiple
temperatures, the current temperature T will be used to interpolate the various material properties
that contribute to the constitutive relations; consequently, it is recommended that a single-
temperature characterization (i.e., a single-temperature Mdata file) should be used for the
composite material in question. In summary, if the user does not request this option, then the
current temperature T influences the constitutive relations in two different ways: 1) the
temperature change used in the constitutive relations simply becomes T=T, and 2) T is used to
interpolate the temperature-dependent material properties that contribute to the constitutive
relations.
It should be emphasized that the default temperature in Abaqus/Standard is 0. This
default temperature is completely compatible with the default stress free temperature of 0 that is
assumed when the seventh user material constant is specified as 0. In this case, the model can
still be subjected to temperature changes by simply imposing a temperature other than 0;
however, these thermal stresses develop over the course of the analysis, as opposed to being
present at the start of the analysis.

User Material Constants 8-10 are not used and should be set to 0 or left blank.

Average Element Thickness For analyses using Energy-Based Degradation, this value
represents the average element thickness of the three-dimensional (i.e. solid) elements associated
with the material. The average element thickness is used with solid elements to compute a
representative element length that represents the area of the element in the plane of a lamina. For
two-dimensional elements (i.e. shell elements and plane stress elements), this value is ignored,
and should be entered as 1.0.

Note: The Average Element Thickness is only available for analyses using Energy-Based
Degradation. For analyses not using Energy-Based Degradation this value is ignored.

Note: The Average Element Thickness is only available for unidirectional composite
materials. The eleventh user material constant is ignored by woven composites.

Matrix Post-Failure Stiffness / Matrix Degradation Energy For analyses not using Energy-
Based Degradation, the twelfth user material constant is a fraction that is used to define the

damaged elastic moduli of the matrix constituent after matrix constituent failure occurs.
Specifically, the value is the ratio of the failed matrix constituent moduli to the unfailed matrix
constituent moduli. A value of 0.1 would mean that after a matrix failure occurs at an integration
point, all six of the matrix constituent moduli (E
m
11
, E
m
22
, E
m
33
, G
m
12
, G
m
13
, G
m
23

) are reduced to 10% of
the original undamaged matrix constituent moduli. The matrix post-failure stiffness value must
be greater than 0, and less than or equal to 1. By default, the matrix post-failure stiffness value is
set to 0.1. If the post-failure nonlinearity feature is turned on, this value will be ignored. For
more information on the matrix post-failure stiffness, please refer to Appendix A.12 of this
documentation.
For analyses using Energy-Based Degradation, this value is the total energy dissipated
before and after a matrix failure assuming a linear degradation of composite stiffness after a
failure event. Specifically, composite E
c
22
, E
c
33
, G
c
12
, G
c
13
and G
c
23

are degraded after a matrix failure
event according to this energy, the composite stress state at fiber failure, and the volume of the
element. For more information on the computation of the energy values, refer to Appendix A.5
of this document and the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.
Note: For unidirectional materials, if the Post-Failure Nonlinearity feature is turned on, then the
twelfth user material constant will be ignored since the matrix post-failure stiffness is
determined by the Post-Failure Nonlinearity feature.

Note: For woven composites, if the matrix post-failure stiffness is specified, the third user
material constant (Progressive Failure analysis) must be set to a value of 2. If the third
constant is set to a value of 1, the twelfth user constant will be ignored.

Fiber Post-Failure Stiffness / Fiber Degradation Energy For analyses not using Energy-
Based Degradation, the thirteenth user material constant is a fraction that is used to define the
damaged elastic moduli of the fiber constituent after fiber constituent failure occurs. Specifically,
the value is the ratio of the failed fiber constituent moduli to the unfailed fiber constituent moduli.
A value of 0.01 would mean that after a fiber failure occurs at an integration point, all six of the
fiber constituent moduli (E
f
11
, E
f
22
, E
f
33
, G
f
12
, G
f
13
, G
f
23

) are reduced to 1% of the original undamaged
fiber constituent moduli. The fiber post-failure stiffness value must be greater than 0, and less
than or equal to 1. The default value of the fiber post-failure stiffness is automatically set to 0.01.
For more information on the fiber post-failure stiffness, please refer to Appendix A.12 of this
documentation.
For analyses using Energy-Based Degradation, this value is the total energy dissipated for
a fiber failure assuming a linear degradation of composite stiffness before and after a fiber failure
event. Specifically, composite E
c
11
, G
c
12
, and G
c
13

are degraded linearly after a fiber failure event
according to this energy, the composite stress state at fiber failure, and the volume of the element.
For more information on the computation of the energy values, refer to Appendix A.5 of this
document and the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.
Note: For woven composites, if the fiber post-failure stiffness is specified, the third user
material constant (Progressive Failure analysis) must be set to a value of 2. If the third
constant is set to a value of 1, the thirteenth user constant will be ignored

Progressive failure analysis, pre-failure nonlinearity, post-failure nonlinearity,
hydrostatic strengthening, post-failure stiffnesses and degradation energies do not
apply to Helius:MCT Linear
User Material Constants 14, 15, 16 .The 14
th
, 15
th
, and 16
th
user material constants are only
required if the finite element model is defined using a custom system of units. If using a custom
set of units, please refer to Appendix A.1 for formatting details.

4.2 Defining a Helius:MCT Cohesive Material
A Helius:MCT cohesive material is defined similar to a composite material (Section 4.1) using the
three keyword statements *MATERIAL, *DEPVAR, and *USER MATERIAL. Consider the
following lines from an Abaqus input file that completely specify a Helius:MCT user-defined cohesive
material.
*MATERIAL, name=cohesi ve
*DEPVAR
9
*USER MATERIAL, const ant s=11
23, 1. 0E+10, 1. 0E+10, 1. 0E+10, 1. 0E+6, 1. 0E+6, 1. 0E+6, 100
200, 200, 1. 25

For any given Helius:MCT cohesive material, the number of user material constants must be
between 8 and 11. Appendix B provides a detailed description of each of the user material constants,
including the range of allowable values for each constant and the impact that each constant has on the
constitutive relations used to represent the material. Each of the user material constants typically defined
in an analysis incorporating a Helius:MCT cohesive material are listed below along with a brief
description. For a more detailed description of any particular user material constant, refer to the
appropriate section of Appendix B.

Damage Criteria - The first user material constant selects the damage initiation and damage
evolution criteria. It is a two digit integer where the tens place holds the damage initiation
criterion selection and the ones place holds the damage evolution type selection. The damage
initiation flag can be 1 for maximum traction or 2 for a quadratic based criterion. The damage
evolution flag can be 1 for displacement based softening, 2 for energy based, or 3 for energy
based using a mixed mode power law. For example, if the first user material constant is 12 the
maximum traction damage initiation criterion will be used with the energy based softening law.

Stiffnesses - User material constants 2-4 specify the material stiffness in the normal, first shear,
and second shear directions respectively.

Strengths - User material constants 5-7 specify the maximum tractions the material can sustain
before damage initiates in the normal, first shear, and second shear directions respectively.

Displacement Based Damage Evolution - The following user material constants must be
defined if the displacement based damage evolution is chosen.

o Effective Displacement at Failure - User material constant 8 is a positive number which
defines difference in effective displacement at complete failure and at damage initiation.

Energy Based Damage Evolution - The following user material constants must be defined if the
energy based damage evolution is chosen.

o Total Fracture Energy - User material constant 8 is a positive number which defines the
total energy dissipated due to a failure. In mathematical terms, this is the area under the
traction - separation curve.

Energy Based Damage Evolution (Mixed Mode Power Law) - The following user material
constants must be defined if the energy based damage evolution with a mixed mode power law is
chosen.

o Normal Mode Fracture Energy - User material constant 8 is a positive number which
defines the total energy dissipated due to a pure normal mode failure.

o First Shear Mode Fracture Energy - User material constant 9 is a positive number which
defines the total energy dissipated due to a pure first shear mode failure.

o Second Shear Mode Fracture Energy - User material constant 10 is a positive number
which defines the total energy dissipated due to a pure second shear mode failure.

o Power Law Exponent (Alpha) - User material constant 11 is a positive exponent used in the
mixed mode power law function used to determine the rate of softening in the damaged
cohesive material.

4.3 Modifying the Section Definitions
After creating new material definitions for each of the Helius:MCT composite materials that appear
in the Abaqus input file (described previously in Section 4.1), the next step is to incorporate the new
materials into the various Section definitions that appear in the Abaqus input file. This process simply
involves changing the name of each material ply in the composite section layup to the name of a valid
Helius:MCT material that was defined as described in Section 4.1. For example, consider the following
shell section definition excerpted from an Abaqus input file.

*SHELL SECTI ON, el set =Pl at eLayup- 1, composi t e, or i ent at i on=Or i 1, st ack
di r ect i on=3, l ayup=Pl at eLayup
1. , 3, MATERI AL_1, 0, Pl y- 1
1. , 3, MATERI AL_1, 45, Pl y- 2
1. , 3, MATERI AL_1, - 45, Pl y- 3
1. , 3, MATERI AL_1, 90, Pl y- 4
1. , 3, MATERI AL_1, 90, Pl y- 5
1. , 3, MATERI AL_1, - 45, Pl y- 6
1. , 3, MATERI AL_1, 45, Pl y- 7
1. , 3, MATERI AL_1, 0, Pl y- 8

The composite section layup contains eight material plies, where each ply is composed of a material
named "MATERIAL_1". This material name should be replaced by the name of the appropriate

Helius:MCT material, for example, "IM7_8552" as defined in Section 4.1. The updated shell section
definition is shown below.

*SHELL SECTI ON, el set =Pl at eLayup- 1, composi t e, or i ent at i on=Or i 1, st ack
di r ect i on=3, l ayup=Pl at eLayup,
1. , 3, IM7_8552, 0, Pl y- 1
1. , 3, IM7_8552, 45, Pl y- 2
1. , 3, IM7_8552, - 45, Pl y- 3
1. , 3, IM7_8552, 90, Pl y- 4
1. , 3, IM7_8552, 90, Pl y- 5
1. , 3, IM7_8552, - 45, Pl y- 6
1. , 3, IM7_8552, 45, Pl y- 7
1. , 3, IM7_8552, 0, Pl y- 8

Certain types of Abaqus elements (e.g., beam elements, shell elements, and reduced integration
elements) require extraneous stiffness parameters in order to stabilize their response against deformation
modes that are not governed directly by material constitutive relations. These extraneous stiffness
parameters are defined as either options or data in the Section keyword statement that is referenced by the
element in question. Depending upon the specific type of element being used, one or more of the
following types of extraneous stiffness parameters may need to be specified as part of the Section
definition that is referenced by the element.

Section Transverse Shear Stiffnesses: K
ts
11
, K
ts
22
, and K
ts
12


Appendix C.1 provides a detailed discussion of each type of extraneous stiffness parameter, in
addition to listing the specific extraneous stiffness parameters that are required by each type of element.

In earlier versions of Helius:MCT, the calculation of these extraneous stiffness parameters and their
detail in Appendices C.2-C.4 of this User's Guide. However, Helius:MCT now includes an auxiliary
building process, while at the same time minimizing the chance for errors being introduced into the input
file. With the availability of xSTIFF, the user can now postpone the task of defining the extraneous
stiffness parameters until the model building process is completed and an Abaqus input file is saved.
xSTIFF can then be run to automatically add any required extraneous stiffness parameters to the saved
Abaqus input file. For more information on using xSTIFF to automatically calculate and insert the
required extraneous stiffness parameters into the Abaqus input file, please refer to the xSTIFF Users
Guide.

Note: If the user chooses to manually define the extraneous stiffness parameters, Appendices C.1-C.4
completely describe the processes of identifying the required extraneous stiffness parameters,
calculating their values, and inserting the correctly formatted values into the Abaqus input file.

For cohesive sections, the response parameter must be set to RESPONSE =TRACTION
SEPARATION.

4.4 Modeling Issues for Imposing Temperature Changes
The composite materials that are stored in the Helius:MCT Composite Material Database are
defaulted to have a stress-free temperature (cure temperature) of 0 in the system of units that is specified
by the value of the 1
st
user material constant unless it is specified by the seventh user constant that the
stress-free temperature stored in the material file should be used. Any initial temperature specified via the
*INITIAL CONDITIONS, TYPE=TEMPERATURE statement (including the default value of 0) will be
used to calculate the residual stresses present in each of the constituents and the composite due to the
unmatched coefficients of thermal expansion between the fiber and matrix. For details on how the
temperature changes imposed in a model affect how Helius:MCT calculates residual stresses, please refer
to Section 10 in the Helius Theory Manual.

4.5 Nonlinear Solution Control Parameters for Helius:MCT
It is a widely accepted notion that good convergence (or any convergence at all) is difficult to
achieve in a progressive failure simulation of a composite structure. In fact, many progressive failure
simulations terminate early, not due to global structural failure, but simply due to the inability of the finite
element code to obtain a converged solution at a particular load step. In light of this problem, one of the
major advantages of Helius:MCT is that it has been optimized to significantly improve the overall
convergence rate and robustness of finite element simulations of progressive failure of composite
structures. However, in order to take full advantage of the superior convergence characteristics of
Helius:MCT, the user must change some of the default settings that govern the nonlinear solution process
used by Abaqus/Standard. These changes can be enacted using the *CONTROLS keyword statement.

In Abaqus/Standard, the default settings for the nonlinear solution process are based on the
fundamental assumption of the Newton-Raphson algorithm that the nonlinear response of the composite
structure is sufficiently smooth at both the global and local levels. However, in a progressive failure
simulation of a composite structure, the nonlinear response of the composite structureis not

smooth,
especially at the local level where material failure results in an instantaneous reduction of material
moduli. This non-smooth material response is one of the primary factors responsible for the difficulty in
obtaining convergence in progressive failure simulations. Helius:MCTs method of managing material
nonlinearity is specifically designed to handle this localized non-smooth material response. However, the
default settings of Abaqus convergence control parameters must be changed in order to allow
Helius:MCT to improve the convergence characteristics of the finite element simulation. These default
settings can be changed via the first data line of the *CONTROLS keyword statement. The
*CONTROLS keyword statement should be placed in the input file immediately after the *STATIC
keyword statement. The first data line in the *CONTROLS keyword statement contains 11 quantities.
The default values of these 11 quantities are shown below in the *CONTROLS keyword statement below.
*CONTROLS, PARAMETERS=TI ME I NCREMENTATI ON
4, 8, 9, 16, 10, 4, 12, 5, 5, 3, 50

Qualitatively speaking, the changes that should be made to these default values are intended to
significantly increase the number of equilibrium iterations that Abaqus/Standard will perform before the
code evaluates the need for a reduction (or cut-back) in the time increment size. If Helius:MCT is used in

Nonlinear Solution Control Parameters are not used in Helius:MCT Linear.
the finite element solution, then the Abaqus input file should use the following *CONTROLS keyword
statement.

*CONTROLS, PARAMETERS=TI ME I NCREMENTATI ON
1000, 1000, 1000, 1000, 1000, , , , , 10, 1000

Note that the value of the quantities 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 11 have been set to 1000, while the value of the 10
th

quantity has been set to 10. For all other quantities on the data line, the default values are acceptable.
These changes force Abaqus to wait until 1000 equilibrium iterations have been completed before
evaluating the need to reduce the time increment size.

The familiar *STATIC keyword statement is present in the Abaqus input file for all quasi-static
analyses. The single data line used by the *STATIC statement contains four quantities that collectively
specify the desired time incrementation scheme. The first quantity specifies the size of the initial time
increment. The second quantity specifies the total amount of time to be analyzed in the current step. The
third quantity specifies the minimum allowable size of the time increments used in the current step. The
fourth quantity specifies the maximum allowable size of the time increments used in the current step.
Since the use of Helius:MCT significantly improves the ability of Abaqus to obtain a converged solution
for any particular time increment, it is likely that the entire analysis can be performed without any time
increment reductions; therefore, the user may wish to experiment with the parameters that he or she
routinely employs in the data line of the *STATIC keyword statement.

4.6 Requesting Output of the MCT State Variables
Solution-dependent MCT state variables are used to track the history of certain quantities that are
computed in the Helius:MCT User-Defined Material Subroutine. Appendix D describes all 34 of the
MCT state variables that pertain to unidirectional composites and all 90 of the MCT state variables that
pertain to woven composites. These MCT state variables are not written to the output database file unless
explicitly requested in the Abaqus input file. To request MCT state variable output, the user must add the
identifying key SDV to the list of output variables that are requested in the *ELEMENT OUTPUT
keyword statement. For example, the following *ELEMENT OUTPUT keyword statement requests that
stresses (S), strains (E), and MCT state variables (SDV) should be written in the output database file (note
that the stresses (S) and strains (E) are not necessary for a Helius:MCT analysis but are included here for
demonstrative purposes):

*ELEMENT OUTPUT
S, E, SDV

It should be emphasized that the number of MCT state variables that are written to the output file
depends on the number of state varaibles that are requested by the *DEPVAR statement

Another issue that should be considered when requesting output is the number and location of the
section points where the output variables are calculated. In an element that contains multiple material
layers, the default section points correspond to the top and bottom surface of the element, thus the output
variables are not available for any of the internal material layers. If the user wishes to view the output
variables for each of the material layers within an element, the user must explicitly list the section points

where the output variables should be computed. As an example, consider a 4 ply composite plate with 3
section points per ply, for a total of 12 section points as shown in Figure 9. By default, the output
variables will only be computed for section points 1 and 12 corresponding to the top and bottom surfaces
of the element. In order to view results for each material layer of the element, it is most expedient to
request that the output variables should be computed at the mid-surface of each material layer (i.e.,
section points 2, 5, 8, 11). In order to request specific section points for the calculation of output
variables, the user must add a data line immediately after the *ELEMENT OUTPUT keyword statement.
This data line lists the specific section points where the output variables will be computed. For example,
the following *ELEMENT OUTPUT keyword statement requests calculation of stress (S), strain (E) and
the MCT state variables (SDV) at section points 2, 5, 8 and 11.

*ELEMENT OUTPUT
2, 5, 8, 11
S, E, SDV
Pl y 1
Pl y 2
Pl y 3
Pl y 4
X 1
X 2
X 3 X 4
X 5
X 6
X 7
X 8
X 9 X 10
X 11
X 12

Figure 9: Location of section points within an element containing 4 material plies

Be aware that Abaqus allows only 16 quantities to be entered on the section point data line of the
*ELEMENT OUTPUT keyword statement. For elements that contain large numbers of material layers,
more than one *ELEMENT OUTPUT keyword statement is required to request all of the desired section
points. For example, consider an element with 24 material layers. The following pair of *ELEMENT
OUTPUT keyword statements is used to request output at the mid-surface of each of the 24 material
layers.

*ELEMENT OUTPUT
2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 38, 41, 44, 47
S, E, SDV
*ELEMENT OUTPUT
50, 53, 56, 59, 62, 65, 68, 71
S, E, SDV

4.7 Modeling Damage Tolerance in Composite Materials
Damage tolerance is the ability of a structure to retain required structural strength or stiffness
after it has sustained damaged. When a composite part is damaged, there are numerous failure modes that
can exist. These failure modes are constituent-level defects (i.e. fiber and matrix level defects), so it is
appropriate to model damage at this level. Helius:MCT is well-suited for modeling damage tolerance
because it allows the user to specify constituent-level damage in elements at the start of the analysis. For

example, if a plate was impacted by a mass and there is diffuse matrix damage in impacted region, the
user can create an element set that represents the damaged region and assign matrix failure to that region
prior to the start of the analysis. At the start of the analysis, this region will have an SDV1 value of 2
(matrix failure) and as the simulation progresses, the region can undergo fiber failure which will result in
an SDV1 value of 3. In other words, the initial value of SDV1 that is assigned to the element set is not
fixed and can change if either the matrix or fiber failure criterion is satisfied.

The initial value of SDV1 must be an integer value equal to 1, 2, or 3. For unidirectional
materials, 1 corresponds to no failure, 2 corresponds to matrix failure, and 3 corresponds to fiber and
matrix failure. For plain weaves, 1 corresponds to no failure, 2 corresponds to matrix failure in all tows
and the matrix pocket, and 3 corresponds to fiber failure in all tows plus matrix failure in all tows and the
matrix pocket. The Abaqus keyword, *INITIAL CONDITIONS, TYPE=SOLUTION is used to activate
damage tolerance and is not supported by Abaqus/CAE. The following keyword statement demonstrates
the use of damage tolerance with Helius:MCT.

*I NI TI AL CONDI TI ONS, TYPE=SOLUTI ON
DAMAGED_ELEMENTS, 3

In the above statement, DAMAGED_ELEMENTS is the name of the element set that represents the failed
region and 3 indicates that this region will have fiber and matrix damage at the start of the analysis.

5 Running Helius:MCT on Linux
Before running Helius:MCT in a Linux environment it is assumed the following steps are done:

The Abaqus input file has been created

The utility provided by Firehole Composites to automatically write extraneous stiffness
parameters to an Abaqus input file, xSTIFF, is not supported on Linux. Therefore, if the target
input file uses any elements or sections that require extraneous stiffness parameters, xSTIFF must
be executed on a supported Windows machine prior to copying the input file to the target Linux
machine.

The necessary Helius:MCT material files have been created and stored in the Firehole materials
directory. Note the following.

o The application used to create Helius:MCT material files, Helius Material Manager, is
not supported on Linux. Therefore, material files must be created on a supported
Windows machine and copied to the target Linux machine.

o Helius:MCT resolves material files via the following convention:

MATERI AL_FI LE_DI R/ Material_Name/mdat a. xml

where Material_Name is the name of the name of the material in the Abaqus input file.
Unlike Windows, Linux directories are case sensitive and Abaqus always modifies
material names to use all upper-case characters. Therefore the Material_Name folder
must always be in upper-case text.

Abaqus has been pointed to the Helius:MCT libstandardU.so file. This is done via the
usub_l i b_di r variable in the abaqus_v6.env file. The variable must be set as one of the
following (replace <FHTDIR>with the path of the base Firehole installation directory, i.e.,
/usr/local/firehole):

o usub_l i b_di r = ' <FHTDI R>/ hmct / 4. 0' - For non cluster jobs
o usub_l i b_di r = ' <FHTDI R>/ hmct / 4. 0/ mi md' - For jobs run on a cluster of
machines utilizing the Message Passing Interface (MPI).

This variable can be set in the global abaqus_v6.env file or if multiple users run jobs on this
machine it is recommended to copy this file into the appropriate user's home directory. From
there it can be modified. This file can also reside in the current working directory. Abaqus
searches for this file in the following order:
o Current working directory
o The user's home directory
o The Abaqus site directory
See sections 3.1.1, and 3.2.2 of the Abaqus Analysis User's Manual for more information on the
abaqus_v6.env file and the usub_l i b_di r variable.
Once the above steps have been performed, the input file can be executed just as any other standard
Abaqus analysis.

6 Examining Helius:MCT Results with Abaqus/Viewer
This section discusses the use of Abaqus/Viewer to examine the finite element results that are
generated by Helius:MCT. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with using Abaqus/Viewer to view
finite element results and perform any necessary post-processing of finite element results. Therefore, this
section focuses on issues that are unique to the processes of examining and interpreting the progressive
failure results generated by Helius:MCT. This section is divided into two parts, the first of which focuses
on the generation of contour plots for the MCT state variables. The second part deals with the issue of
correlating damage distribution with overall changes in structural stiffness, including the detection of
global structural failure.

6.1 Using contour plots to view the MCT state variables
The MCT state variables are element output variables stored at each integration point within each
element. Consequently, the same familiar methods used to view the stress and strain fields at each time
increment can be used to view the MCT state variables. However, in order to view any of the MCT state
variables in Abaqus/Viewer, the Abaqus input file must first request that they be written to the Abaqus
output database file (see Sections 3.5 and 4.5). For a complete description of each of the MCT state
variables, refer to Appendix D.

Contour plots are usually the most appropriate means of examining the distribution of the MCT
state variables. To generate a contour plot within Abaqus/Viewer, click the contour icon or select
Plot Contours On Deformed Shape from the main toolbar. The default variable Abaqus/Viewer
plots is the von Mises stress. To view the MCT state variables that are computed by Helius:MCT, open
the Field Output dialog box by selecting Result Field Output from the main toolbar. The MCT state
variables (SDV1, SDV2, SDV3, , etc.) are listed within the Field Output dialog box along with the
more familiar variables such as stress (S) and strain (E). The number of SDVs that are available in the
Field Output dialog box depends entirely on the number of SDVs that were requested by the Abaqus input
file via the *DEPVAR keyword statement. Note that the SDV variables may have been renamed (SDV1
MAT_STATE, SDV2 FI_MATRIX, etc.) by the same *DEPVAR keyword statement.

The fundamental MCT state variable is SDV1 which indicates the discrete damage state of the
composite material. SDV1 is a real variable that can assume a finite number of discrete values between
1.0 SDV1 < 4.0. The specific set of discrete values that can be assumed by SDV1 depends upon the
type of composite material (unidirectional or woven) and the specific set of material nonlinearity features
that are used by Helius:MCT during the finite element solution (see Appendix D). As a specific example,
if Helius:MCT is used on a unidirectional microstructure with its progressive failure feature activated and
its pre-failure and post-failure nonlinearity features de-activated, then SDV1 can only assume the values
1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 as shown in the table below. However, regardless of the features requested, all the discrete
values of SDV1 between 1 and 2 generally indicate some level of matrix failure, and all values between 2
and 3 generally indicate some form of fiber failure. An MCT file (*.mct) is generated when a
Helius:MCT enhanced analysis is submitted and contains the specific set of values that can be assumed by
SDV1 for each material in the model.

It should be noted that contour plots of fully-integrated elements can show values of SDV1 that are
less than 1 and greater than 4. This is entirely due to the scheme Abaqus uses to compute contour values.
For element-based values, such as SDV1, the computations vary depending on several criteria. In
general, the extrapolation of integration point values to the nodal locations is the reason SDV1 can be less
than 1 and greater than 4 for fully-integrated elements. To view the exact values for SDV1 at each

integration point within a specific element, use the Probe Values tool in the Abaqus Query toolset. For
more information on how contour values are computed, refer to Section 42.1.1 of the Abaqus/CAE v6.10
Users Manual.

Unidirectional Microstructure
Progressive Failure Anal ysis (acti vated)
Pre-Failure Nonlinearity (de-acti vated)
Post-Failure Nonlinearity (de-activated)

Al lowable
Discrete Values
for SDV1 Discrete Composite Damage State
1.0 No Failure or Degradation
2.0 Matrix Failure only
3.0 Matrix & Fiber Failure

Because SDV1 is a discrete real variable taking values 1.0 SDV1 < 4.0, it is important for the
user to change the settings of Abaqus/Viewer so that a unique color contour is associated with each
discrete value of integer value of SDV1. In the case where SDV1 can assume values of 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0,
the user should set the number of color contours to 3. The number of contour intervals used in a contour
plot can be specified from the Contour Plot Options dialog box, which is accessed by clicking Options
Contour from the main toolbar. The Contour Plot Options dialog box is shown in Figure 10. Under the
heading Contour Intervals, the user should choose Discrete and then use the slider bar to select the
number of discrete color contours to match the number of integer values that SDV1 can assume.

Figure 10: Contour Plot Options dialog box

Figure 11 shows two different 3-color contour plots of the integer variable SDV1 for an axially
loaded composite plate with a central hole. In Figure 11, the use of three discrete colors makes it easy to
identify the regions where each of the three discrete composite damage states occur. The blue elements
(SDV1=1) are completely undamaged; the green elements (SDV1=2) have failed matrix constituents and
undamaged fibers; the red elements (SDV1=3) have failed matrix constituents and failed fiber
constituents. Note that the quilt contour plot shows the average value of SDV1 for each individual
element, while the banded contour plot simply uses the values of SDV1 at the individual integration
points to establish the color contours independent of the element boundaries.

Figure 11: Comparison of a banded contour plot and a quilt contour plot using three
discrete color contours to represent distribution of SDV1=1,2,3

The remaining MCT state variables (SDV2, SDV3, SDV4, ,SDV90) are continuous real
variables. Therefore, in generating contour plots of these variables, it is not critical to manage the
number of color contours. Furthermore, the standard practices used in viewing stress and strain
distributions are also appropriate for viewing SDV2, SDV3, SDV4, , etc..

Selection of Section Points

When viewing finite element solution results for laminated composite structures, the user must be
acutely aware of the numbering of the section points through the thickness of multilayer elements. A
contour plot will only use the values of the variable stored at a particular section point. Therefore, to
view a contour plot for a specific material layer, the user must choose a section point that lies within that
material layer. To choose a specific section point, access the Section Points dialog box by selecting
Results Section Points from the main toolbar. The Section Points dialog box is shown in
Figure 12. The default section point that is plotted by Abaqus/Viewer is the bottom section point (i.e., the
section point at the bottom of the element). To view results for a particular material ply, the Plies option
can be checked and the appropriate ply can be selected. To view results for all section points in the same
plot, an envelope plot can be used by selecting the Envelope option. Envelope plots show the maximum
absolute, maximum, or minimum value of the selected variable across all of the plies in a layup. For
more information on selecting section points, refer to Section 40.4.8 of the Abaqus/CAE v6.10 Users
Manual.

Figure 12: Section Points dialog box

As an example of the above recommendations, consider Figure 13 which shows envelope quilted
contour plots of SDV1=1,2,3 at several points in time during a progressive failure analysis of a composite
plate with a central hole. The plate has eight material plies and is loaded in tension. Since these contour
plots are envelope plots, the color at any location represents the highest value of SDV1 that is achieved at
any of the section points distributed through the thickness of the 8-ply laminate. In these plots, blue
elements have no failure at any of the section points that are distributed through the laminate thickness.
The green elements have at least one section point where matrix failure has occurred, while the red
elements have at least one section point where both matrix failure and fiber failure occurred.


Figure 13: Envelope, quilted contour plots of SDV1 at several different points in time
during a progressive failure analysis

Several important observations can be made regarding the sequence of envelope quilted contour plots
shown in Figure 13:

At time =0.3, every element is blue, which means that no points in the composite plate have
experienced any type of failure.
At time =0.4 there are some green elements at the edges of the hole. Within these green
elements, at least one material ply has experienced a matrix constituent failure. However, the plot
does not specify which of the material plies have experienced a matrix constituent failure.
Comparing the plots at times 0.4 and 0.5 indicates the progression of matrix constituent failure as
the load increases.
At time =0.7, the matrix failure has spread further, and there are three elements with fiber failure,
as indicated by the red elements. Again, the red elements indicate that at least one of the 8
material plies has experienced a fiber constituent failure.
At time =0.9045, there is significant matrix failure, and the fiber failure has spread out towards
the plate edges.
At time =1.0, there is additional matrix and fiber failure.

6.2 Detection of global structural failure
In Section 6.1, we used color contour plots to examine the distribution of the discrete composite
failure state (SDV1) within a composite structure. In viewing these contour plots, it is easily appreciated
that each of the damaged regions represents material whose stiffness has been significantly degraded.
Furthermore, by examining the changes that occur in these contour plots over time, we can clearly see the
cascade of localized material failure that occurs during a progressive failure analysis. However, viewing
the distribution of material failure does not

provide any indication of the overall impact of the material
failure on the global stiffness of the structure. Moreover, it is impossible to detect global structural failure
by simply examining the distribution of material failure over the structure.
In order to detect global structural failure or to associate a particular distribution of damage with a
decrease in overall structural stiffness, we must first examine the relationship between global structural
force and global structural deformation. This type of relationship is best examined using a simple 2-D
plot of force vs. deformation; however, the key issue is to select an appropriate measure of global
structural force and an appropriate measure of global structural deformation.

As an example, let us consider an 8-ply composite plate shown in Figure14. Note that this is the
same composite plate problem examined earlier in Section 6.1. As seen earlier in Figure 13, the
distribution of damage within the composite plate is shown at several different points in time over the
course of the analysis. However, simply viewing the contours plots shown in Figure 13 does not provide
us with an understanding of how each of the damage distributions affects the global structural stiffness of
the composite plate. To understand the degradation of global structural stiffness as localized failures
spread throughout the composite plate, let us examine a simple 2-D plot of global structural force vs.
global structural deformation. Since this composite plate is subjected to a uniform axial displacement that
is imposed along the top edge of the plate, the imposed axial displacement will serve as an appropriate
measure of the overall structural deformation in the plate. Similarly, the total axial reaction force along
the top edge of the plate will serve as an appropriate measure of global structural force in the plate. This
total reaction force is obtained by summing the nodal reaction forces for all of the nodes on the top edge
of the plate (see Figure 15). Figure 16 shows a plot of global structural force vs. global structural
deformation for the composite plate.


Figure 14: 8-ply composite plate under imposed axial displacement

Figure 15: The global structural force is obtained by summing the vertical reactions forces
at all nodes along the top edge of the composite plate


Figure 16: Global structural force vs. global structural deformation

Beginning at an imposed displacement of 0.13, the overall secant stiffness of the structure starts
to deteriorate rapidly. Beyond this point, as the imposed axial displacement is further increased, the
structure is unable to resist the additional imposed displacement with additional structural force.

Examination of Figure 16 reveals that the global force/displacement response of the composite
structure appears to remain linear until the imposed displacement reaches a value of approximately 0.095.
Interestingly, if we examine Part C of Figure 13, we see that by the time the imposed axial displacement
has reached the value of 0.08, the composite plate has accumulated a significant amount of matrix
constituent failure along the vertical edges of the circular hole. However, this amount of matrix
constituent failure is insufficient to make a visually detectable impact on the global stiffness of the
composite plate. As the imposed displacement is increased from 0.095 to approximately 0.13, the global
stiffness of the composite plate undergoes a visually detectable reduction in Figure 16; however, the
structure is still able to respond to increasing displacement with increasing structural force. In examining
Part D of Figure 13, we see that at an imposed displacement of 0.112, the composite plate has
experienced a small amount of fiber constituent failure along the vertical edges of the circular hole. Note
that this localized fiber constituent failure has not yet prevented the composite plate from responding to
increased displacement with increased structural force. As the imposed displacement reaches
approximately 0.133, the global stiffness of the composite plate exhibits a drastic reduction indicting a
significant cascading of localized fiber constituent failures (i.e., a major failure event has occurred). As
the imposed displacement is increased beyond 0.133, the composite plate no longer responds to increasing

displacement with increasing structural force. Instead, the overall structural force in the composite plate
remains relatively constant, indicating that the spread of localized failures is too rapid to build any
additional structural force. However, as seen by the two dotted lines in Figure 16, the overall secant
stiffness of the composite plate continues to decrease despite the fact that the overall structural force
remains relatively constant.

There are many possible ways to define global structural failure. The exact point that signals global
structural failure depends upon the intended use of the composite plate. The point that should be
emphasized here is that the detection of global structural failure requires an examination of the global
structural force vs. global structural deformation.

In summary, contour plots of the MCT state variables (especially SDV1) provide the analyst with
a clear picture of the extent of localized failures at any particular point in time. In order to correlate any
of the damage distributions with decreased overall stiffness of the composite structural, one must examine
plots of global structural force vs. global structural deformation. In this way, the analyst can associate
observed changes in the global stiffness of the structure with specific damage distributions.

Material constants 3-6 and 11-13 are not used in Helius:MCT Linear.
Appendix A User Material Constants for Composite Materials
A set of user material constants are provided in the data line that immediately follows the *USER
MATERIAL keyword statement. The Helius:MCT User-Defined Material Subroutine uses these
constants to determine the precise form of multiscale constitutive relations that should be used for the
composite material. For any type of Helius:MCT composite material, the number of user material
constants must be between 3 and 16. The first three user material constants are required for all
Helius:MCT materials. The last three user material constants (i.e., the 14
th
, 15
th
, and 16
th
constants) are
only required if the finite element model is defined using a custom system of units (see Appendix A.1).
Table A1 provides a short description of the constitutive modeling issue that is controlled by each of the
possible user material constants along with the allowable range of values for each constant.

Table A1. Helius:MCT User Material Constants For Composite Materials

User
Material
Constant
Constitutive Issue Controlled by the
User Material Constant
Allowable Values
1 System of Units 1,2,3,4,5
2 Principal Material Coordinate System
Unidirectional 1, 2
Woven 1, 2, 3
3 Progressive Failure Analysis
Uni 0 (off), 1 (on)
Woven 0 (off), 1 or 2 (on)
4 Pre-Failure Nonlinearity 0 (off), 1 (on)
5
Post-Failure Nonlinearity / Energy-
Based Degradation
0 (off)
1 (Post-Failure Nonlinearity)
2 (Energy-Based Degradation)
6 Hydrostatic Strengthening 0 (off), 1 (on)
7 Stress Free Temperature
0 (0), 1 (temperature read from
material file)
8 Not currently used 0 or blank
11 Average Element Thickness Must be greater than zero
12
Matrix Post Failure Stiffness /
Matrix Degradation Energy
0 <value 1 /
Must be greater than zero
13
Fiber Post Failure Stiffness /
Fiber Degradation Energy
0 <value 1 /
14 Force Conversion for Custom Units Must be greater than zero
15 Length Conversion for Custom Units Must be greater than zero
16
Temperature Difference Conversion for
Custom Units

In the remainder of Appendix A, each of the material constants is discussed in detail, including the
impact of the constant on the multiscale constitutive relations used to represent the composite material.

Appendix A.1 User Material Constant #1: Systems of Units
All numerical quantities in a finite element input file must be expressed in a consistent set of units.
For example, if the geometry of the model is specified in centimeters and the force is specified in
Newtons, then the material moduli must be expressed in units of N/cm
2
.

All material properties in the Helius:MCT composite material database are stored using the
(N/m/K) system of units (i.e., force is expressed in Newtons, length is expressed in meters, and
temperature is expressed in degrees Kelvin). Therefore, if a model is built using a different system of
units, then the user must identify the appropriate system of units so that Helius:MCT can provide stiffness
and stress to the Abaqus/Standard finite element code in the correct units. Helius:MCT has pre-
programmed conversion factors that can be used to express constitutive information in several commonly
used systems of units. In addition, Helius:MCT has the capability to provide constitutive information in a
user-defined (or custom) system of units.

The system of units that will be used by the Helius:MCT User-Defined Material Subroutine is
defined by the first user material constant listed on the data line that immediately follows the *USER
MATERIAL statement. Table A2 shows the allowable range of integer values for the first user material
constant and lists the system of units specified by each value.

Table A2. System of Units specified by User Material Constant #1

User Material
Constant #1
System of Units
1 N, m, K
2 N, mm, K
3 lb, in, R
4 lb, ft, R
5 Custom

If the first user material constant is assigned a value of 1, 2, 3, or 4, then Helius:MCT will
automatically perform the appropriate unit conversions and provide the constitutive relations in the
system of units shown in Table A2. However, if the model is defined using a system of units that is not
represented in Table A2, then the user must set the value of the first user material constant to 5, indicating
that a 'custom' system of units will be used. In this case, the user must specify the three conversion
factors that are needed by Helius:MCT to convert from the default units of Newtons, meters, and Kelvin
to the custom system of units. These three conversion factors for force, length, and temperature will be
listed as the 14
th
, 15
th
, and 16
th
user material constants respectively in the data line of the *USER
MATERIAL statement. Note that the 14
th
, 15
th
, and 16
th
user material constants are required only if

the
value of the 1
st
user material constant is 5.
As an example of a custom system of units, lets say that a finite element model is created using
units of kilonewtons, centimeters, and degrees Fahrenheit. Since this particular system of units is not
included in Table A2, it will be considered a custom system of units. Consequently the first user material
constant for any Helius:MCT materials should be assigned a value of 5. Now we must compute the
conversion factors for force, length, and temperature that will be listed as the 14
th
, 15
th
, and 16
th
user
material constants respectively. The force conversion factor that is required to convert from the default
units of Newtons, to the desired units of kilonewtons is computed as,

N
kN
N
kN
F
conv
001 . 0
1000
1
= = .

The length conversion factor that is required to convert from the default units of meters, to the desired
units of centimeters is computed as,

m
cm
m
cm
L
conv
100
1
100
= = .

The conversion factor for temperature changes (T) that is required to convert temperature change from
the default units of K to the desired units of F is computed as,

K
F
K
F
T
conv
= 8 . 1
1
5 / 9
.

The 14
th
, 15
th
, and 16
th
user material constants should be assigned values of 0.001, 100, and 1.8
respectively. In this case, the data line immediately following the *USER MATERIAL statement would
have sixteen user material constants as shown below. The first user material constant (value=5) indicates
that a custom system of units will be used. The 14
th
, 15
th
, and 16
th
user material constants specify the
factors needed to convert from the default units of Newtons, meters, and Kelvin to the desired units of
kilonewtons, centimeters, and degrees Fahrenheit respectively. An example of the *USER MATERIAL
keyword statement is shown below.

*USER MATERI AL, CONSTANTS=16
5, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0,
0, 0, 0, 0. 1, 0. 01, 0. 001, 100, 1. 8

Note that the *USER MATERIAL statement includes the parameter CONSTANTS=16 to indicate that
there are sixteen user material constants on the data line.

Two additional points should be emphasized regarding the choice of values for the 1
st
user material
constant. First, all stress results printed in the Abaqus output files will be expressed in the units specified
by the user via the first user material constant. For example, if the first user material constant has a value
of 3 (specifying the pound, inch, degree Rankine system of units), Abaqus will output all stresses in units
of lb/in
2
. Second, custom units are not supported by the Helius:MCT GUI and must be specified
manually by the user by either changing the material definition in the Abaqus/CAE keyword editor or by
directly editing the input (*.inp) file with a text editor such as Notepad.

Appendix A.2 User Material Constant #2: Principal Material Coordinate
System

Helius:MCT expresses constitutive relations and computes stress in the principal material
coordinate system of the composite material. For unidirectional microstructures, Helius:MCTs default
principal material coordinate system is oriented with the 1 direction aligned with the fiber direction,
while the 2 and 3 directions lie in the composite materials plane of transverse isotropy. However, in
situations where it adds convenience or simplicity to the model creation process, the user may change the
orientation of Helius:MCTs principal material coordinate system so that the 2 direction is aligned with
the fiber direction, while the 1 and 3 directions lie in the composite materials plane of transverse
isotropy.

For woven microstructures, Helius:MCTs default principal material coordinate system is oriented
with the 1 direction aligned with the fill tow direction, while the 2 direction corresponds to the warp
tow direction and the 3 direction corresponds with the out-of-plane direction. However, in situations
where it adds convenience or simplicity to the model creation process, the user may change the
orientation of the principal material coordinate system so that the 2 direction is aligned with the fill tow
direction, while the 1 direction corresponds to the warp tow direction. Additionally, the user may
change the orientation of the principal material coordinate system so that the 3 direction is aligned with
the fill tow direction while the 2 direction corresponds to the warp tow direction.

The second user material constant is used to specify the orientation of the principal material
coordinate system that will be used by Helius:MCT. The numerical value (1 or 2 for unidirectional
materials and 1, 2 or 3 for woven materials) of the second user material constant specifies which of the
principal material coordinate axes will be aligned with the fiber direction (for unidirectional composites)
or the fill tow direction (for woven composites). The availability of alternative orientations for the
principal material coordinate system provides the user with more flexibility in specifying the orientation
of the material plies within a section definition.

The user should be aware that Abaqus/Standard outputs the composite average state of stress and
strain in the coordinate system that is specified by the second user material constant; however, the
constituent average states of stress and strain (stored in SDV7, SDV8, ..., SDV90) are always output in
Helius:MCT's default principal material coordinate system. As an example, if the second user
material constant is specified as 2, all composite average stress and strain states will be output in the local
system defined by the user, with the local 2 direction corresponding to either the longitudinal axis of the
fibers for unidirectional materials, or the fill axis for woven materials. However, all constituent average
stress and strain states will be reported in the default principal coordinate system of the unidirectional or
woven composite material.

For unidirectional microstructures, Helius:MCTs default principal material coordinate system is
oriented with the 1 direction aligned with the fiber direction, while the 2 and 3 directions lie
in the composite materials plane of transverse isotropy.
For woven microstructures, Helius:MCTs default principal material coordinate system is
corresponds to the warp tow direction and the 3 direction corresponds with the out-of-plane
direction.

Consider the following *USER MATERIAL statement that appears in an Abaqus input file
representing a unidirectional microstructure.

1, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
0, 0, 0, 0. 1, 0. 01

Note that the second user material constant is assigned a value of 2. Therefore, this particular material
will use a principal material coordinate system where the 2 axis is aligned with the reinforcing fibers,
and the 1 and 3 axes lie in the composite materials plane of transverse isotropy. The following
example problem illustrates the consequences of assigning the second user material constant a value of 2.

Example:

Consider a cylindrical tube that is composed of two unidirectional composite material plies (see
Figure A17). Both composite plies are made of the same composite material, but the two plies differ in
the orientation of the reinforcing fibers. The reinforcing fibers of the inner ply are aligned with the axial
direction of the cylinder, and the reinforcing fibers of the outer ply are aligned with the hoop direction of
the cylinder. The red lines in Figure A17 show the orientation of the reinforcing fibers in the inner and
outer composite plies.

Figure A17. The fiber direction for each element is indicated by the red lines

To illustrate the consequences of specifying a value of 2 for the second user material constant,
consider the following statements that are excerpted from an Abaqus input file. The second user material
constant is assigned a value of 2 indicating that the 2 axis of the principal material coordinate system is
aligned with the reinforcing fibers. Note that ** indicates a comment in an Abaqus input file.

** Def i ne a Hel i us: MCT composi t e mat er i al .
** Not e t hat t he 2 axi s of t he pr i nci pal mat er i al
** coor di nat e syst emi s al i gned wi t h t he f i ber di r ect i on.
*MATERI AL, name=I M7_8552
*DEPVAR
6

1, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
0, 0, 0, 0. 1, 0. 01
**
** Def i ne a l ocal cyl i ndr i cal coor di nat e syst emf or t he
** i nner composi t e pl y. Not e t hat t he l ocal cyl i ndr i cal
** coor di nat e syst emi s r ot at ed so t hat t he l ocal 2 axi s
** poi nt s i n t he gl obal axi al di r ect i on.
*Or i ent at i on, name=axi al _f i ber s, syst em=CYLI NDRI CAL
0. , 0. , 0. , 0. , 0. , 1.
1, 90.
**
** Def i ne a sol i d sect i on f or t he i nner composi t e pl y.
*Sol i d Sect i on, el set =i nner Pl y, or i ent at i on=axi al _f i ber s,
mat er i al =IM7_8552
**
** Def i ne a l ocal cyl i ndr i cal coor di nat e syst emf or t he
** out er composi t e pl y. Not e t hat t her e i s no need t o
** r ot at e t he l ocal cyl i ndr i cal coor di nat e syst emsi nce
** t he l ocal 2 axi s poi nt s i n t he gl obal hoop di r ect i on.
*Or i ent at i on, name=hoop_f i ber s, syst em=CYLI NDRI CAL
0. , 0. , 0. , 0. , 0. , 1.
1, 0.
**
** Def i ne a sol i d sect i on f or t he out er composi t e pl y.
*Sol i d Sect i on, el set =out er Pl y, or i ent at i on=hoop_f i ber s,
mat er i al =IM7_8552

Notice that the orientation of the local cylindrical coordinate systems (given in the
*ORIENTATION statements) must be consistent with the convention chosen for the principal material
coordinate system. For example, the local cylindrical coordinate system for the inner ply is rotated so that
the local 2 axis points always points in the global axial direction. In contrast, the local cylindrical
coordinate system for the outer ply does not need to be rotated since its local 2 axis always points in the
global hoop direction.

Progressive Failure Analysis is not available in Helius:MCT Linear.
Appendix A.3 User Material Constant #3: Progressive Failure Anal ysis

The third user material constant is used to activate or deactivate Helius:MCTs progressive failure
analysis feature. If the progressive failure feature is activated, then Helius:MCT will routinely evaluate
both the matrix failure criterion and the fiber failure criterion to determine if either constituent material
has failed. Each constituent failure criterion is based on the corresponding constituent average stress
state. For the purposes of this specific discussion, it is assumed that pre-failure and post-failure
nonlinearity are de-activated. In the event that one or both of the constituents fail, the stiffness of the
failed matrix and fiber are appropriately reduced to the values specified by the 12
th
and 13
th
material
constants, respectively. Helius:MCT then calculates the current composite average stiffness based on the
current state (failed, or not failed) of each constituent material.

The value of the third user material constant has different implications depending on the microstructure of
the material.

Unidirectional Microstructures: A value of 1 activates the progressive failure analysis feature,
while a value of 0 deactivates the progressive failure analysis feature.

Woven Microstructures: A value of 0 deactivates the progressive failure feature, a value of 1
activates the progressive failure feature and uses the matrix and fiber degradation levels from the
material data file to calculate the failed material properties, and a value of 2 activates the
progressive failure feature and uses the matrix and fiber degradations levels specified by the
twelfth and thirteenth user material constants to calculate the failed material properties. Selecting
a value of 2 for plain weaves will add approximately 45-60 seconds to the pre-processing time per
woven material. A value of 1 will not add run-time during pre-processing because the failed
material properties (at the matrix and fiber degradation levels specified during material creation
in Helius Material Manager) are already stored in the material file.

The progressive failure analysis feature is the foundation component of Helius:MCTs nonlinear
multiscale constitutive relations. Other aspects of material nonlinearity can be invoked (via the 4
th
, 5
th
,
and 6
th
user material constants); however, these additional forms of nonlinearity cannot be activated
unless the progressive failure analysis feature is also activated. The discrete values that can be assumed
by SDV1 differ depending on the microstructure of the underlying composite and additional forms of
material nonlinearity invoked. A comprehensive listing of the allowable discrete values for SDV1 is
provided in Appendix D. Additionally, a description of each discrete composite damage state is written in
the summary file (*.mct) created by Helius:MCT during the preprocessing phase of the analysis.

Figure A18 shows a [0/ 45]
s
unidirectional composite plate that was analyzed using
Helius:MCTs progressive failure feature. Figure A18 shows a contour plot of the MCT state variable
SDV1, representing the composite damage state in the 0 plies. The blue areas represent composite
material with unfailed constituents (SDV1=1), the green areas represent composite material with a failed
matrix constituent (SDV1=2), and the red areas represent composite material with matrix and fiber
constituents that have failed (SDV1=3).


Figure A18: Helius:MCT solution for failure propagation in the 0 plies of a composite
laminate loaded in tension

Note: The number of possible discrete damage states for the composite material depends on the type of
composite material (unidirectional or woven) and the specific set of material nonlinearity features that are
used by Helius:MCT. For any given case, a description of each discrete composite damage state and its
associated SDV1 value is written in the summary file (*.mct) created by Helius:MCT during the
preprocessing phase of the analysis. Additionally, the user is referred to Appendix C which describes all
of the discrete damage states that can be assumed by any composite material under any circumstances.

For further information on the Helius:MCTs progressive failure analysis feature, refer to Section 4 of the
Helius:MCT Theory Manual.
Failure Key
No failure
Matrix failure
Matrix & Fiber
Failure

Pre-Failure Nonlinearity is not available in Helius:MCT Linear.
Appendix A.4 User Material Constant #4: Pre-Failure Nonlinearity
(Unidirectional composites only, not available for woven composites)

The fourth user material constant activates or deactivates Helius:MCTs pre-failure nonlinearity
feature. A value of 1 activates the pre-failure nonlinearity feature, while the default value of 0 deactivates
the pre-failure nonlinearity feature.

The pre-failure nonlinearity feature is intended to account for the nonlinear longitudinal shear
(softening) response that is commonly observed in fiber-reinforced composite materials prior to ultimate
failure. This additional form of nonlinearity involves imposing a series of three discrete reductions in the
longitudinal shear stiffness of the matrix constituent material (G
m
12

andG
m
13
) which directly results in a
corresponding series of three discrete reductions in the longitudinal shear stiffness of the composite
material (G
c
12

andG
c
13
Threshold

Interval 1 Interval 2 Interval 3
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Shear Strain (%)
S
h
e
a
r

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
Experimental Data
Helius:MCT Pre Fail NL Off
Helius:MCT Pre Fail NL On
Threshold

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Shear Strain (%)
S
h
e
a
r

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
Experimental Data
Threshold

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Shear Strain (%)
S
h
e
a
r

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
Experimental Data
C
o
m
p
o
s
i
t
e

A
v
e
r
a
g
e

L
o
n
g
i
t
u
d
i
n
a
l

S
h
e
a
r

S
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
Composite Average Longitudinal Shear Strain (%)
Longitudinal
Shear Strength
measured data
progressive failure without
pre-failure nonlinearity
progressive failure with
pre-failure nonlinearity
matrix constituent
failure
). Imposition of these three discrete reductions in the longitudinal shear moduli are
completed prior to matrix constituent failure, thus providing a longitudinal shear softening effect prior to
matrix failure. Figure A19 shows a typical measured longitudinal stress/strain curve for a unidirectional
carbon/epoxy lamina. Helius:MCTs pre-failure nonlinearity feature approximates this type of
nonlinear longitudinal shear response with a four-segment, piecewise linear representation of the
longitudinal shear response. For further information on the pre-failure nonlinearity feature, refer to
Section 5 of the Helius:MCT Theory Manual. Appendix D details the discrete values that the solution
state variable SDV1 can assume during a progressive failure analysis where the pre-fail nonlinearity
feature is activated.

Figure A19: Comparison of predicted vs. measured longitudinal shear response for a typical
fiber-reinforced composite lamina.

Post-Failure Nonlinearity and Energy-Based Degradation are not available in
Helius:MCT Linear.
Appendix A.5 User Material Constant #5: Post-Failure Nonlinearity and
Energy-Based Degradation

The fifth user material constant activates or deactivates Helius:MCTs post-failure nonlinearity or
energy-based degradation features. A value of 1 activates the post-failure nonlinearity feature, a value of
2 activates the energy-based degradation functionality, while the default value of 0 deactivates the post-
failure nonlinearity feature and the energy-based degradation feature.

Post-Failure Nonlinearity
Helius:MCTs post-failure nonlinearity feature is intended to account for the residual load carrying
capability of a failed composite lamina that is embedded in a composite laminate. If the post-failure
nonlinearity feature is activated, then Helius:MCT will gradually reduce the stiffness of the matrix
constituent material after the matrix failure criterion is triggered, instead of instantaneously reducing the
matrix stiffness to its minimum value. In this case, the matrix failure criterion simply identifies the
initiation of the matrix failure process (or the initiation of matrix cracking). After the matrix failure
criterion is triggered, the matrix constituent stiffness is gradually reduced via a series four discrete
stiffness reductions that are applied as the strain state continues to increase beyond the level present at
matrix failure initiation. When using this feature, the MCT state variable SDV1 can be used to identify
the condition of matrix crack saturation which is useful in determining leakage of a pressurized fluid
through a composite laminate. For further information on the post-failure nonlinearity feature, refer to


Figure A20: Helius:MCT stress-strain solutions for the central 90 ply within a (0/90/0)
laminate under axial tension, showing the effect of including the post-failure nonlinearity
feature

Energy-Based Degradation
Helius:MCTs energy-based degradation feature is intended to account for the residual load
carrying capability of a failed composite lamina that is embedded in a composite laminate. If the energy-
based degradation feature is activated, then Helius:MCT will gradually reduce the stiffness of the
composite after a failure criteria is triggered, instead of instantaneously reducing the composite stiffness.
In this case, the failure criterion simply identifies the initiation of failure. After the failure criterion is
triggered, the composite constituent stiffness is gradually reduced via a series of discrete stiffness
reductions that are applied as the strain state continues to increase beyond the level present at failure
initiation. When using this feature, the MCT state variable SDV1 can be used to identify the progression
of composite damage as the strain continues to increase. For a detailed description of the energy-based
nonlinearity feature, refer to the Helius:MCT Theory Manual. The specific stiffness reductions that occur
depend entirely on the failure state of the composite.

Matrix Failures
In the case of a matrix failure, composite E
c
22
, E
c
33
, G
c
12
, G
c
13
, G
c
23

degrade linearly using the relation
P
c
d
= (1.0 - d
m
) P
c
0

(A5)
where P
c
d
is the degraded composite property, P
c
0
is the virgin composite property, and d
m

is the
degradation constant due to matrix failure given by

d
m
=
f
eff
(
eff
-
0
eff
)

eff
(
f
eff
-
0
eff
)

. (A6)
In the above equation,
eff
is a composite effective strain measure given by

eff
=
2
22
+
2
33
+
2
12
+
2
13
+
2
23

, (A7)

0
eff
is the value of the composite effective strain at matrix failure, and
f
eff

is the final effective strain
value given by
f
eff
=
2G
m

0
eff
L
e

, (A8)
where G
m
is the total energy dissipated in the composite before and after a matrix failure (user material
constants 12),

is the effective stress of the composite at matrix failure computed in the same manner
as Equation A5, and L
e
is the representative element length defined by Abaqus. In the case of three-
dimensional elements (i.e. bricks and continuum shell) the element length is the cubed root of the volume.
In the case of two-dimensional elements (i.e. shell and plane stress elements) the element length is the
square root of the area.
0
eff
The definition of the final effective strain given in Equation A8 assumes a linear degradation of the
effective stress vs. effective strain relationship of the composite, as shown in Figure A21.

Figure A21: Stress/strain response for a linear degradation using energy-based degradation.

To keep the MCT decomposition intact, and accurately capture the stresses in the constituents after
a matrix failure, the properties of the matrix constituent are also degraded to enforce a consistent
relationship from the micro to macro scale.

Fiber Failures
A fiber failure event will result in a linear degradation of composite E
c
11
, G
c
12
, and G
c
13

in a similar
manner to the degradation of the composite properties due to a matrix failure with the effective strain
being defined as
eff
=
2
11

, (A9)
and the effective stress defined in a similar manner. However, the longitudinal shear degradation is given
by

P
c
d
= (1.0 - d
f
) (1.0 - d
m
) P
c
0

, (A10)
which forces the shear stiffness to be a strictly decreasing function of effective strain.

The major difference between matrix failures and fiber failures is the need for constituent
information. If the fiber fails, the matrix is assumed to fail as well, and the need for constituent
information is not required for further failure calculations, so the constituent properties are not updated
after fiber failures.

Therefore, providing the dissipation energies for matrix and fiber failure events allows the
energy-based degradation scheme to compute the degraded composite and constituent properties after a
failure event as a function of increasing composite strain. The energy-based degradation will alleviate
some mesh dependence on a final solution and provide a robust progressive failure analysis.

Note: If the matrix constituent has failed prior to fiber failure E
c
22
, E
c
33
, G
c
23
are degraded according to the
Matrix Degradation Energy, otherwise E
c
22
, E
c
33
, G
c
23

are degraded according to the Fiber
Degradation Energy.

A Note on Discrete Interval Partitioning
The Energy-Based damage feature of Helius:MCT uses multiple discrete intervals when linearly
degrading the composite, as shown in Figure A22. Each interval uses a secant modulus to define the
response of the composite in that specific interval. For problems where the total energy represents
something similar to an isosceles triangle, the intervals will accurately capture the response of the
composite.


Figure A22 Energy-based linear degradation interval partitioning.

For analyses where the total energy represents a very heavily skewed triangle, as shown in
Figure A23, the interval partitioning will not accurately capture the linear softening of the composite at
the early strain levels. This is entirely due to the number of intervals used to achieve the most rapid and
robust convergence of the problem. Specifically, the stress secant intervals at strain levels near failure
retain a high stiffness and can cause a misrepresentation of the stress state of the composite. If the user
has analyses which must define a linear degradation curve in which the final effective strain is over 100
times the initial effective strain, please contact Firehole Composites for support.


Figure A23 Linear degradation for large energy problem using secant modulus interval divisions.

Hydrostatic Strengthening is not available in Helius:MCT Linear.
Appendix A.6 User Material Constant #6: Hydrostatic Strengthening

The sixth user material constant activates or deactivates Helius:MCTs hydrostatic strengthening
feature. A value of 1 activates the hydrostatic strengthening feature, while the default value of 0
deactivates the hydrostatic strengthening feature.

If the hydrostatic strengthening feature is activated, then Helius:MCT explicitly accounts for the
experimentally observed strengthening of the composite in the presence of a hydrostatic compressive
stress in the matrix constituent. If the hydrostatic compressive stress in the matrix constituent exceeds a
threshold value, then the strength of both the matrix constituent and the fiber constituent are scaled
upwards commensurate with the level of hydrostatic compressive stress level in the matrix constituent.

The threshold value of the matrix average hydrostatic compressive stress is an experimentally
determined quantity denoted in index notation by
m*
kk
, where
m*
kk
<0. Provided that the matrix average
hydrostatic compressive stress (
m
kk
=
m
11
+
m
22
+
m
33
) is negative and
m
kk
<
m*
kk

, then the longitudinal
shear strength of the matrix constituent is increased to,
S
m
12
= S
m0
12
0.04(
m
kk

m*
kk
)

, (A11)
where S
m
12
is the new matrix average longitudinal shear strength and S
m0
12
is the original matrix average
longitudinal shear strength. A hydrostatic strengthening ratio S
ratio
is computed as S
ratio
=(S
m
12
)
2
/(S
m0
12
)
2

.
This ratio is then used to increase all of the coefficients of the matrix and fiber constituent failure criteria
via
A
m
i
= A
m0
i
S
ratio

i=1,2,3,4,5, (A12a)
and

A
f
i
= A
f0
i
S
ratio

i=1,2, (A12b)
where A
m0
i
and A
f0
i

denote the original strength coefficients that appear in the failure criteria for the matrix
and fiber constituents, respectively.
For further information on the Helius:MCTs hydrostatic strengthening feature, refer to Section 7
of the Helius:MCT Theory Manual.

Appendix A.7 User Material Constant #7: Thermal Residual Stresses
(unidirectional composites only, not available for woven composites)

At room temperature, an unloaded laminated composite structure already has non-zero self
equilibrating stresses at both the composite ply level and the constituent material level caused by the
initial cooling of the structure from its elevated cure temperature to room temperature. At the composite
ply level, these thermal residual stresses are caused entirely by differences in the thermal expansion
characteristics of adjacent plies. At the constituent material level (fiber/matrix), the thermal residual
stresses are caused in part by the previously mentioned ply level thermal residual stresses and in part by
differences in the thermal expansion characteristics of the fiber and matrix materials. Helius:MCT can
explicitly account for these ply-level and constituent-level thermal residual stresses that exist prior to any
externally applied loads or temperature changes. In this case, the thermal residual stresses contribute to
the total stress state of the composite material and thus influence the mechanical load level at which the
material fails. The seventh user material constant (0 or 1) serves as a flag to turn this feature on or off.

If theseventh user material constant is specified as 1, then Helius:MCT computes the ply-level
and constituent-level thermal residual stresses that are caused by the post-cure cool down from the stress-
free temperature (i.e. cure temperature) to ambient temperature. In this case, the stress free temperature
is read from the material data file (Mdata file) and ambient temperature corresponds to 72.5F, 22.5C or
295.65K. If theseventh user material constant is specified as 1, ply-level and constituent-level thermal
residual stresses will be present in the composite material prior to the application of any external
mechanical and/or thermal loads that are imposed during the actual simulation. If the user chooses to
explicitly account for thermal residual stresses in the analysis, then the user should verify the material
data file (Mdata file) actually contains a defined stress free temperature; otherwise, the stress free
temperature will default to 0 and the predicted thermal residual stresses will be quite erroneous.

If theseventh user material constant is specified as the default value of 0, then thermal residual
stresses are not
[ =C(T)] is simply computed as T =T T
sf
=T. Several points should be emphasized here.
First, the stress free temperature T
sf
defaults to 0 even if the composite material data file (Mdata file)
explicitly defines a non-zero stress free temperature. Second, regardless of the system of units that are
employed by the finite element model, the current temperature T completely defines the temperature
change T that is used in the constitutive relations. Third, for composite materials that are characterized
at multiple temperatures, the current temperature T will be used to interpolate the various material
properties that contribute to the constitutive relations; consequently, it is recommended that a single-
temperature characterization (i.e., a single-temperature Mdata file) should be used for the composite
material in question. In summary, if the user does not request this option, then the current temperature T
influences the constitutive relations in two different ways: 1) the temperature change used in the
constitutive relations simply becomes T=T, and 2) T is used to interpolate the temperature-dependent
material properties that contribute to the constitutive relations.
included in the response of that particular composite material during the simulation. In
this case, the stress free temperature of the composite material defaults to T
sf
=0 (regardless of the
system of units employed), and the temperature change that is used in the constitutive relations

It should be emphasized that the default temperature in Abaqus/Standard is 0. This default
temperature is completely compatible with the default stress free temperature of 0 that is assumed when
the seventh user material constant is specified as 0. In this case, the model can still be subjected to

temperature changes by simply imposing a temperature other than 0; however, these thermal stresses
develop over the course of the analysis, as opposed to being present at the start of the analysis.

For more information on thermal residual stresses, please refer to Section 10 of the Helius:MCT
Theory Manual.

User Material Constant #11 is not available in Helius:MCT Linear.
Appendix A.8 User Material Constant #8: Not Currentl y Used

Appendix A.9 User Material Constant #9: Not Currentl y Used
Appendix A.10 User Material Constant #10: Not Currently Used
Appendix A.11 User Material Constant #11: Average Element Thickness

The eleventh user material constant is used to define the average element thickness used with
energy-based degradation. For two-dimensional elements this value is ignored. For three-dimensional
(solid) elements this is the average thickness the solid elements associated with the material, where the
thickness is defined as the interlaminar dimension of the element.

Recall from Appendix A.5 that the final effective strain used in the energy-based degradation
calculations is given by

f
eff
=
2G
m

0
eff
L
e

.
In the above, L
e
is the representative element length as defined by Abaqus (see Section 21.3.3 of the
Abaqus Analysis User's Manual). In the case of three-dimensional elements (i.e. bricks and continuum
shell) the element length is the cubed root of the volume. In the case of two-dimensional elements (i.e.
shell and plane stress elements) the element length is the square root of the area.

For two-dimensional elements, the element thickness is ignored, as the characteristic element
length is giving a measure of the in-plane area of the element, carrying with it a meaningful measure to
associate with a composite ply. However, for layered solid elements the representative element length is
not associated with a measure for a single ply. To accommodate the use of solid elements and allow them
to be used and compared against results for two-dimensional elements, the representative element length
must be modified to provide a useful measure of the element length in the plane of a ply. Therefore, the
average element thickness is used to compute a representative are for an element as follows:

L
e
=
V
e

3
t
e

, (A13)

where V
e
is the volume of the element, and t
e
is the average thickness of the element. The element length
defined in Equation A13 provides an accurate measure of the in-plane area of a solid element, and will
collapse to the exact measure provided by Abaqus for two-dimensional elements when the thickness of a
solid element is constant.
Appendix A.12 User Material Constant #12: Matrix Post-Failure Stiffness /

The twelfth user material constant is used to define the response of the composite after a matrix
failure. It can take the meaning of two different values depending on the requests of the user.
Specifically, if the user requests energy-based degradation of the composite, this value represents the total
energy dissipated by the composite before and after a matrix failure. Otherwise, this value is a fraction
that is used to define the damaged elastic moduli of the matrix constituent after matrix constituent failure
occurs.

Matrix Post-Failure Stiffness
Matrix post-failure stiffness is a fraction that is used to define the damaged elastic moduli of the
matrix constituent after matrix constituent failure occurs. Specifically, the value is the ratio of the failed
matrix constituent moduli to the unfailed matrix constituent moduli. As an example, for unidirectional
and woven materials, a value of 0.10 would specify that after a matrix failure occurs at an integration
point, all six of the matrix constituent moduli (E
m
11
, E
m
22
, E
m
33
, G
m
12
, G
m
13
, G
m
23

) are reduced to 10% of the
original undamaged matrix constituent moduli. The matrix post-failure stiffness value must be greater
than 0.0, and less than or equal to 1.0. In the event that the twelfth user material constant is not specified,
the default value of 0.10 is assumed. Experimental data indicates that 10% is an acceptable value for
matrix degradation in a multidirectional composite laminate comprised of unidirectional laminae; 70% is
an acceptable degradation for laminates comprised of woven laminae.
Note: If the Post-Failure Nonlinearity feature is turned on, then the twelfth user material constant is
ignored since the matrix post-failure stiffness is determined by the Post-Failure Nonlinearity
feature.

Note: For woven composites, it is recommended that the matrix post-failure stiffness should not be less
than 0.7.

Note: For woven composites, if the matrix post-failure stiffness is specified, the third user material
constant (Progressive Failure analysis) must be set to a value of 2. If the third constant is set to a
value of 1, the twelfth user constant will be ignored.

The value of the twelfth user material constant can have a pronounced effect on the post-failure
response of a multilayer composite structure since this constant is largely responsible for the rate at which
local loads are redistributed after a localized matrix constituent failure occurs.
If the user requests energy-based degradation, this value represents the total energy of the
composite before and after a matrix failure event. After a matrix failure event occurs, E
c
22
, E
c
33
, G
c
12
, G
c
13
, G
c
23
are degraded linearly according to the linear degradation presented in Appendix A.5. As the
composite strain increases beyond initial matrix failure, the composite properties are reduced according to
the input Matrix Degradation Energy, the composite strain at failure, the composite stress at failure, and
the element volume. For more information on the Matrix Degradation Energy, refer to the Helius:MCT
Theory Manual.


Note: After matrix failure, the matrix properties are calculated to enforce a correct MCT decomposition
when computing fiber failure indices for the remainder of the analysis.

Note: If the Matrix Degradation Energy is specified as too low, the properties of the composite will be
instantaneously reduced (instead of gradually) to near zero when the matrix failure criterion
exceeds 1.0. Refer to Appendix A.5 and the Helius:MCT Theory Manual for more information.

Appendix A.13 User Material Constant #13: Fiber Post-Failure Stiffness /

The thirteenth user material constant is used to define the response of the composite after a fiber
failure. It can take the meaning of two different values depending on the requests of the user.
Specifically, if the user requests energy-based degradation of the composite, this value represents the total
energy dissipated by the composite before and after a matrix failure. Otherwise, this value is a fraction
that is used to define the damaged elastic moduli of the matrix constituent after matrix constituent failure
occurs.

Fiber Post-Failure Stiffness
The fiber post-failure stiffness is a fraction that is used to define the damaged elastic moduli of
the fiber constituent after fiber constituent failure occurs. Specifically, the value is the ratio of the failed
fiber constituent moduli to the unfailed fiber constituent moduli. For unidirectional materials, a value of
0.01 would specify that after a fiber failure occurs at a particular integration point, all six of the fiber
constituent moduli (E
f
11
, E
f
22
, E
f
33
, G
f
12
, G
f
13
, G
f
23
) are reduced to 1% of the original undamaged fiber
constituent moduli at the integration point in question. For woven materials, a value of 0.01 would
specify that after a fiber failure occurs at a particular integration point, three of the fiber constituent
moduli (E
f
11
, G
f
12
, G
f
13

) are reduced to 1% of the original undamaged fiber constituent moduli at the
integration point in question. The fiber post-failure stiffness value must be greater than 0, and less than or
equal to 1. In the event that the thirteenth user material constant is not specified, the default value of 1E-
06 is assumed.
Note: In response to a fiber constituent failure, the current implementation of Helius:MCT imposes an
isotropic degradation of the fiber properties for unidirectional materials and an orthotropic
degradation of the fiber properties for woven materials.

Note: For woven composites, if the fiber post-failure stiffness is specified, the third user material
constant (Progressive Failure analysis) must be set to a value of 2. If the third constant is set to a
value of 1, the thirteenth user constant will be ignored.

The value of the thirteenth user material constant can have a pronounced effect on the predicted
progressive failure response of a multilayer composite structure since this constant is largely responsible
for the rate at which local loads are redistributed after a localized fiber constituent failure occurs.
Consequently, as the value of the thirteenth user material constant is reduced from 1.0 toward 0.0, a local
fiber failure is more likely to precipitate a cascade of localized fiber failures. Depending upon the
magnitude of the fiber failure cascade, the result may be discernable as a noticeable softening of the
overall structural response, or it may cascade without arresting and result in a global structural failure.

If the user requests energy-based degradation, this value represents the total energy of the
composite before and after a fiber failure event. After a fiber failure event occurs, E
c
11
, G
c
12
, and G
c
13
are
degraded linearly according to Appendix A.5 for post-fiber failure. As the composite strain increases

beyond that at initial fiber failure, the composite properties are reduced according to the input Fiber
Degradation Energy, the composite strain at failure, the composite stress at failure, and the element
volume. For more information on the Fiber Degradation Energy, refer to the Helius:MCT Theory
Manual.

Note: After fiber failure, the matrix is assumed to have failed (whether it has or not), and the properties
of the constituents are no longer needed to compute failure. Therefore, the properties of the
constituents are not updated after a fiber failure.

Note: If the matrix constituent has failed prior to fiber failure, E
c
22
, E
c
33
, G
c
23
are degraded according to
the Matrix Degradation Energy, otherwise E
c
22
, E
c
33
, G
c
23

are degraded according to the Fiber
Degradation Energy.
Note: If the Fiber Degradation Energy is specified as too low, the properties of the composite will be
instantaneously reduced (instead of gradually) to near zero when the fiber failure criterion
exceeds 1.0. Refer to Appendix A.5 and the Helius:MCT Theory Manual for more information.

Appendix B User Material Constants for Cohesive Materials
A set of user material constants are provided in the data line that immediately follows the *USER
MATERIAL keyword statement. The Helius:MCT User-Defined Material Subroutine uses these
constants to determine the precise form of multiscale constitutive relations that should be used for the
cohesive material. For any type of Helius:MCT cohesive material, the number of user material constants
must be between 8 and 11. Table B1 provides a short description of the constitutive modeling issue that is
controlled by each of the possible user material constants along with the allowable range of values for
each constant.

Appendices B.1 - B.4 explain the user material constants in more detail. For a theoretical
discussion of the cohesive material constitutive laws used in Helius:MCT please see the Helius:MCT
Theory Manual.

Table B1: Helius:MCT User Material Constants for Cohesive Materials
User
Material
Constant
Constitutive Issue Controlled by the
User Material Constant
Allowable Values
1 Damage Criteria 11, 12, 13, 21, 22, 23
2 Normal Stiffness K
nn
>0
3 First Shear Stiffness K
ss
>0
4 Second Shear Stiffness K
tt
>0
5 Normal Maximum Traction S
n
>0
6 First Shear Maximum Traction S
s
>0
7 Second Shear Maximum Traction S
t
>0
8
Depends on damage evolution criterion.
Please see Appendix B.4
m
f
-
m
o
>0
G
C
>
1
2
t
eff
o

m
o

G
n
C
>
1
2
t
n
o

n
o

9
First Shear Fracture Energy (used only for
Mixed Mode, Power Law softening)
G
t
C
>
1
2
t
t
o

t
o

10
Second Shear Fracture Energy (used only
for Mixed Mode, Power Law softening)
G
s
C
>
1
2
t
s
o

s
o

11
Exponent used in Mixed Mode, Power
Law softening equation
> 0

Appendix B.1 User Material Constant #1: Damage Criteria

The first user material constant specifies the damage criteria to use for the cohesive material. This
constant must be a two digit integer. The tens place of the integer specifies the damage initiation criterion
to use and can be a 1 or a 2. The ones place gives the damage evolution criterion and can be a 1, 2, or 3.
Table B2 lists the valid values and which criteria they correspond to. See Appendices B.3-B.4 for
descriptions of the damage criteria.

Table B2: Valid Values for User Material Constant 1
User Material
Constant 1
Damage Initiation Criterion Damage Evolution Criterion
11 Maximum Traction Displacement Based
12 Maximum Traction Energy Based
13 Maximum Traction Energy Based (Mixed Mode, Power Law)
21 Quadratic Traction Displacement Based
22 Quadratic Traction Energy Based
23 Quadratic Traction Energy Based (Mixed Mode, Power Law)

Appendix B.2 User Material Constants #2-4: Material Stiffness
The stiffnesses of the cohesive material relate the separation of the cohesive layer to the tractions.
The user must supply a valid stiffness for each direction of separation in the cohesive element. The three
stiffness values are K
nn
, K
ss
, and K
tt
which are the stiffnesses in the local three, one, and two directions
respectively. A subscript of n denotes the local 3-direction, s denotes the local 1-direction, and t denotes
the local 2-direction. The traction - separation relationship is given as:

t
n
t
s
t
t
=
(
(
(
K
nn
0 0
0 K
ss
0
0 0 K
tt

t

where t
n
, t
s
, and t
t
are the tractions in the three directions. The nominal strains in the corresponding
directions are
n
,
s
, and
t
. The nominal strains are related to the three separations () using the nominal
thickness of the cohesive element, T
o
.

t
=
n
/ T
o
s
/ T
o
t
/ T
o

It is highly recommended to always use a nominal thickness of one. Note this value is explicitly
defined in the cohesive section properties. It is not necessarily the physical thickness of the cohesive
element. The response of the material is linear elastic until damage is initiated. Damage initiation is
predicted differently depending on the criterion selected in user material constant one. See Appendix B.3
for more information on the available damage initiation criteria.

Appendix B.3 User Material Constants #5-7: Damage Initiation

In order to predict damage initiation in a Helius:MCT cohesive material the user must supply
valid "strength" properties of the material. These strengths are the maximum traction in each direction the
material can sustain before damage initiates and stiffness of the material begins to reduce. The strengths
in the local three, one, and two directions are provided via user material constants five, six, and seven,
respectively. The criterion used to predict the point in the loading history where damage begins is selected
using user material constant one (see Appendix B.1). The two options are Maximum Traction and
Quadratic Traction.

Maximum Traction: The maximum traction criterion initiates damages when the following condition is
met:

max
\
|
.
|
{ } t
n
S
n
,
t
s
S
s
,
t
t
S
t
=1

where S
n
, S
s
, and S
t
are the maximum tractions in their respective directions the material can sustain
before damage initiates.

Quadratic Traction: The quadratic based criterion initiates damages when the following condition is
met:

\
|
.
|
{ } t
n
S
n
2
+
\
|
.
|
t
s
S
s
2
+
\
|
.
|
t
t
S
t
2
=1

These criteria only predict when damage begins. They do not predict how damage evolves or how
the material response changes after initiation. This is controlled by the damage evolution criterion
selected. See Appendix B.4 for more information.

Appendix B.4 User Material Constants #8-11: Damage Evolution

Once damage initiates in a cohesive material the stiffness of the material begins to reduce
(damage evolves). Damage will continue to evolve as the deformation of the material continues to
increase. Eventually the material will be considered fully damaged and contain zero stiffness. The
reduced material stiffness is controlled by the damage variable, D, which is given as:

D =
m
f
( )
m
max
-
m
o

m
max
( )
m
f
-
m
o

where
m
o
is the effective relative displacement at damage initiation,
m
max
is the maximum effective relative
displacement attained thus far in the loading history, and
m
f

is the effective relative displacement at
complete failure. Effective displacement is defined as:

m
=
{ }
n
2
+
s
2
+
t
2

where
n
,
s
, and
t
are the three relative displacements in the local three, one, and two directions,
respectively. The traction is then calculated using the original stiffness values and the damage variable as
shown:

t
n
t
s
t
t
=
(
(
(
( ) 1 - D K
nn
0 0
0 ( ) 1 - D K
ss
0
0 0 ( ) 1 - D K
tt

t

A typical traction displacement curve is shown in Figure B24. Damage initiates at
m
o
where D =
0, and then damage continues to evolve to the point where D =1 at
m
f
.


Displacement
T
r
a
c
t
i
o
n

m
o
m
f

Figure B24. Typical cohesive material traction-displacement curve.

Displacement Based Damage Evolution: For the displacement based damage evolution criterion user
material constant eight is interpreted as the difference between the effective relative displacement at
complete failure,
m
f
, and the effective relative displacement at damage initiation,
m
o
. Valid values must
be greater than zero. Figure B24 shows qualitatively how
m
o
and
m
f

relate to the rate of damage
evolution.
Energy Based Damage Evolution: For the energy based damage evolution criterion user material
constant eight is interpreted as the total fracture energy of the cohesive material, G
C
. Figure B25 shows
how G
C
relates to the traction - separation response of the cohesive material. The value of G
C
supplied by
the user is used to determine the final relative effective displacement as:

m
f
=
2 G
C
t
eff
o
where t
eff
o

is the effective traction at damage initiation.
Energy Based Damage Evolution (Mixed Mode, Power Law): The energy based mixed mode power
law criterion uses fracture energies for each loading mode to determine damage evolution. Instead of a
single fracture energy, G
C
, the user supplies the fracture energy for each mode (G
n
C
, G
s
C
, G
t
C

) via user
material constants eight, nine, and ten respectively. The user must also supply an exponent, , to be used
in the power law. The power law states when the following condition is met the cohesive material has
completely failed (D =1):
\
|
.
|
|
G
n
G
n
C
+
\
|
.
|
|
G
s
G
s
C
+
\
|
.
|
|
G
t
G
t
C
=1


where G
n
, G
s
, and G
t
are the work done by the traction and the corresponding relative displacement in the
local three, one, and two directions respectively.

Displacement
T
r
a
c
t
i
o
n
G
C
m
o
m
f

Figure B25. Cohesive material response.

Appendix C Extraneous Stiffness Parameters
In order for Abaqus to be able to define the stiffness matrix for a particular element, Abaqus must
be able to answer the following four questions:

1. Which materials reside within the element?
2. How is each material distributed within the element?
3. How is each material oriented within the element?
4. Beyond the basic stiffness that the element obtains directly from the constitutive relations of the
materials that are present within the element, are there any additional, extraneous stiffness
parameters that are needed to improve, or stabilize the behavior of the element?

These four questions are answered within the Abaqus input file by a section definition, and
Abaqus/Standard requires that each element in a model must reference a section definition. Different
types of section definitions (listed below) are referenced by different types of elements.

* Membrane Section (referenced only by membrane elements)
* Shell Section (referenced only by shell elements)
* Shell General Section (referenced only by shell elements)
* Solid Section (referenced only by 2-D and 3-D continuum elements)

This appendix discusses the extraneous stiffness parameters mentioned in item 4 above. An
understanding of these extraneous stiffness parameters becomes important when using materials that are
defined in the Helius:MCT material database. In the event that a section definition includes only
materials that are recognized Abaqus material types, Abaqus will automatically compute all of the
extraneous stiffness parameters required in any given section definition. However, if a section definition
uses one or more materials from the Helius:MCT material database, the user must compute the required
extraneous stiffness parameters and list them as part of the section definition in the Abaqus input (*.inp)
file. In response to this situation, the purpose of this appendix is threefold:

1. Identify the extraneous stiffness parameters that are required for each combination of element
type and section definition type,
2. Define the format for listing the extraneous stiffness parameters in the section definition, and
3. Explain the manual method for calculating each of these extraneous stiffness parameters.

Note

: An auxiliary program (xSTIFF) is included with Helius:MCT. xSTIFF reads an Abaqus input file
and automatically computes and inserts all of the extraneous stiffness parameters that are
required by any reduced integration elements that utilize Helius:MCT composite materials. The
availability of xSTIFF permits the user to forgo the time consuming and error prone manual
process described in Appendices C.2 - C.4. The use of xSTIFF is highly recommended since it
significantly reduces the model creation time while at the same time reducing the likelihood of
errors being introduced into the Abaqus input file. For more information on the use of xSTIFF,
please refer to the xSTIFF Users Guide.
xSTIFF is only required for analyses that contain ply-based Helius:MCT materials. It is not required for
analyses that use exclusively cohesive-based Helius:MCT materials.

Appendix C.1 Description of the Extraneous Stiffness Parameters

There are four different types of extraneous stiffness parameters that might be required in a section
definition depending upon the specific combination of section definition type and element type. These
four extraneous stiffness parameters are listed below, along with a brief qualitative description of each.

Hourglass Stiffness Control Parameters
Certain types of elements that use reduced integration can exhibit spurious, so-called hourglass
deformation modes without developing any internal stress in response to the deformation. The hourglass
stiffness control parameters provide these elements with a suitable degree of resistance to the
development of these spurious hourglass deformation modes without adversely affecting their resistance
to realistic deformation modes. There are two commonly required types of hourglass stiffness control
parameters: the membrane hourglass stiffness control parameter and the bending hourglass stiffness
control parameter

Section Transverse Shear Stiffnesses K
ts
11
, K
ts
22
, and K
ts
12
Abaqus shell elements do not derive their transverse shear stiffnesses directly from the constitutive
relations of the materials that are present in the element. Instead, the transverse shear stiffnesses (

K
ts
11
, K
ts
22
, and K
ts
12

) of the element must be explicitly defined as part of the section definition that is referenced by
the element.
The section Poisson ratio is used to define the thickness change of membrane elements and shell
elements caused by the in-plane strains (i.e., membrane strains). Abaqus membrane and shell elements do
not derive their section Poisson ratio directly from the constitutive relations of the materials that are
present in the element. Instead, the section Poisson ratio of these elements must be explicitly defined as
part of the corresponding section definition.


Abaqus continuum shell elements (SC6R and SC8R) explicitly account for an average transverse
normal stiffness that controls thickness stretching and thickness contraction; consequently, these elements
require a thickness modulus. However, Abaqus continuum shell elements do not derive their thickness
modulus directly from the constitutive relations of the materials present in the element. Instead, the
thickness modulus of the element must be explicitly defined as part of the shell section definition or the
shell general section definition.

The following is a list of the extraneous stiffness parameters required for each different
combination of section definition type and element type.

*Membrane Section
All membrane element types require the following parameter:
Any membrane element that uses reduced integration requires the following parameter:
Hourglass Stiffness Control Parameter

*Shell Section
All shell element types require the following parameter:
Any shell element that uses reduced integration requires the following parameters:
All shell elements that account for transverse shear stiffness (e.g., S3, S3R, S3RS, S4, S4R, S4RS,
S4RSW, S8R, S8RT, SC6R, SC8R) require the following parameter:
ts
11
, K
ts
22
, and
All continuum shell elements require the following parameter:
K
ts
12


*Shell General Section
All shell element types require the following parameter:
Any shell element that uses reduced integration requires the following parameters:
All shell elements that account for transverse shear stiffnesses (e.g., S3, S3R, S3RS, S4, S4R, S4RS,
S4RSW, S8R, S8RT, SC6R, SC8R) require the following parameter:
ts
11
, K
ts
22
, and
All continuum shell elements require the following parameter:
K
ts
12


*Solid Section
Any continuum element that uses reduced integration requires the following parameter:
Hourglass Stiffness Control Parameter

Appendix C.2 Formatting of the Extraneous Stiffness Parameters

Note: Appendix C.2 is intended only for those users that plan to manually compute the required
extraneous stiffness parameters and manually insert their formatted values into the Abaqus input
file. Whenever possible, it is highly recommended to use the auxiliary program xSTIFF to
perform this task automatically. For more information on the use of xSTIFF, please refer to the
xSTIFF Users Guide. Otherwise, Appendix C.2 defines the formatting requirements for the
extraneous stiffness parameters for each type of section definition.

Membrane Sections

A typical composite membrane section definition in the Abaqus input file has the following format:

*Membrane Section, elset="elsetName", composite, orientation=orientationName
1., 3, materialName, 45., layer1
1., 3, materialName, -45., layer4

To add any or all of the required extraneous stiffness parameters to a Membrane Section definition, the
following color-coded lines are added to the Membrane Section definition (in the positions shown below).

*Membrane Section, elset="elsetName", composite, orientation=orientationName,
POISSON=,
*HOURGLASS STIFFNESS
<HS data line>

The single numerical quantity is the Section Poisson Ratio.

The <HS data line> contains a single numerical quantity; interpreted as the Hourglass Stiffness
Control Parameter (units are F/L
2
).

Note:
To calculate any of the numerical values required for , or <HS data line>, see
Calculation of Extraneous Stiffness Parameters, in Appendix C.3.

Shell Sections

A typical composite shell section definition in the Abaqus input file has the following format:

*Shell Section, elset="elsetName", composite, orientation=orientationName

To add any or all of the required extraneous stiffness parameters to a Shell Section definition, the
following color-coded lines can be added to the Shell Section definition (in the positions shown below).

*Shell Section, elset="elsetName", composite, orientation=orientationName,
POISSON=, THICKNESS MODULUS=<TM input value>,
<HS data line>
*TRANSVERSE SHEAR STIFFNESS
<TS data line>

The single numerical quantity is the Section Poisson Ratio.

The single numerical quantity <TM input value> is the Section Thickness Modulus.

The <HS data line> contains four numeric quantities, described below.

1
st
Quantity: Membrane hourglass control parameter (units are F/L
2
).

2
nd
Quantity: Not used in shell elements

3
rd
Quantity: Bending hourglass control parameter (units are F/L
2
).

4
th
Quantity: Factor by which the default stiffness for rotation about the shell surface normal is to
be scaled (for shell nodes where six degrees of freedom are active). If this value is
not entered or is entered as zero, Abaqus/Standard will use the default value.

The <TS data line> contains three numeric quantities, described below:

1
st
Quantity: Value of the transverse shear stiffness of the section in the first
direction, K
11
ts
.

2
nd
Quantity: Value of the transverse shear stiffness of the section in the second
direction, K
22
ts
.

3
rd
Quantity: Value of the coupling term in the shear stiffness of the section, K
12
ts
.


For Shell General Sections, the extraneous stiffness parameters receive the same formatting as shown
above for Shell Sections.

Note:
To calculate any of the numerical values required for , <TM input value>,
<HS data line>, or <TS data line>, see Calculation of Extraneous Stiffness Parameters, in Appendix
C.3.

Solid Sections

A typical composite solid section definition in the input file (or Keywords Editor) has the following
format:

*Solid Section, elset="elsetName", composite, orientation=orientationName

To add the required hourglass stiffness control parameter to the Solid Section definition, the following
lines shown in red font should be added to the end of the Solid Section definition:

<HS data line>

Note that <HS data line> contains two numerical quantities, described below.

1
st
Quantity: Hourglass control stiffness parameter (r
F
G) for use with solid elements. Units
are stress (F/L
2
).

2
nd
Quantity: Hourglass control stiffness parameter (r
F
K) is required only for the element type
C3D4H. Units of this parameter depend on the material property assigned to the
element. For nearly incompressible elastomers (*HYPERELASTIC) and
elastometric foams (*HYPERFOAM) the units are stress (F/L
2
); for all other
remaining materials, including fully incompressible elastomers, the units are
stress compliance (L
2
/F). If this value is left blank or entered as zero,
Abaqus/Standard will use the default value.

Note:
To calculate any of the numerical values required for <HS data line>, see Calculation of Extraneous
Stiffness Parameters, in Appendix C.3.

Appendix C.3 Calculation of Extraneous Stiffness Parameters

xSTIFF Users Guide. Otherwise, Appendix C.3 explains the semi-manual procedure for
calculating the extraneous stiffness parameters that are required in an Abaqus input file.

As mentioned previously, Abaqus/Standard automatically calculates the values of all required
extraneous stiffness parameters provided that the model only uses standard Abaqus material types. It is
highly recommended that the user take advantage of this feature by running Abaqus in 'datacheck' mode
and allowing it to automatically compute all of the extraneous stiffness parameters. However, before
Abaqus can automatically compute the extraneous stiffness parameters, all of the model's user-defined
material types must be converted to equivalent Abaqus/Standard material types. For the types of user-
defined materials that can be accessed from the Helius:MCT material database, the most appropriate
Abaqus/Standard material type is the elastic, orthotropic material type that is defined using the
*ELASTIC, TYPE=ENGINEERING CONSTANTS ' keyword statement..

This section explains how to execute Abaqus/Standard in datacheck mode to compute all of the
extraneous stiffness parameters required in the various section definitions that appear in the Abaqus input
file.

To run an Abaqus datacheck analysis, first make a copy of the existing Abaqus input (*.inp) file
and rename it to distinguish it from the original copy. The datacheck analysis will be performed using the
new copy of the input file; however, the new input file requires the following modification steps to enable
Abaqus to compute the extraneous stiffness parameters and print the computed values in the *.dat file.

1. Insert the following *PREPRINT keyword statement at the beginning of the input file, just after
the *HEADING keyword statement.

*PREPRINT, echo=no, MODEL=YES, history=no, contact=no

The parameter 'MODEL=YES' instructs Abaqus to print (in the *.dat file) all of the extraneous
stiffness parameters that it calculates as part of the datacheck analysis.

2. Replace all existing *SHELL SECTION definitions with *SHELL GENERAL SECTION
definitions. Note that this step simply involves inserting the word GENERAL into the
appropriate section definitions; it does not involve changing any of the data of these section
definitions.

3. Locate all of the Helius:MCT material definitions in the input file. Each of these Helius:MCT
material definitions is composed of several different keyword statements. A typical material
definition for a Helius:MCT material is shown below.

*Material, name=IM7_8552
*User Material, constants=13
1., 1., 1., 0., 0., 0., 0., 0.
0., 0., 0., 0.1, 0.01
*Depvar
6,

Each Helius:MCT material definition must be replaced with a recognized Abaqus material
definition, specifically, an elastic, orthotropic material definition that has the same name as the
original Helius:MCT material definition. The new elastic, orthotropic material definition is
shown below.

*Elastic, type=ENGINEERING CONSTANTS
E11, E22, E33, v12, v13, v23, G12, G13
G23

The orthotropic elastic constants (E11, E22, E33, v12, v13, v23, G12, G13, G23) can be obtained
by using the Helius:MCT GUI to access the Helius:MCT material database. For the specific case
of the material IM7_8552, the Helius:MCT GUI displays the view shown in
Figure C26. The engineering constants shown in
Figure C26 can now be inserted into the new orthotropic elastic material definition as shown
below.

*Elastic, type=ENGINEERING CONSTANTS
2.03e+07, 1.65e+06, 1.65e+06, 0.324, 0.324, 0.461, 6.89e+05, 6.89e+05
5.65e+05


Figure C26: Helius:MCT GUI with IM7_8552 selected as a material

4. The datacheck analysis is now ready to be run. To run the datacheck analysis, the Abaqus
Command window needs to be opened (
5. Figure C27).

Figure C27: Abaqus Command window from which to run the datacheck analysis

6. The following commands need to be entered into this window (
7. Figure C28):

a. >>cd <directory in which .inp file is located>
Example: >>cd C:\Abaqus

b. >>abaqus datacheck job=<name of .inp file without the .inp extension>
Example: >>abaqus datacheck job=example


Figure C28: Sequence of commands to run a datacheck analysis

8. After the final line of the command window is entered, a datacheck analysis will run in the same
directory as the input file location. The extraneous stiffness parameters that are computed by
Abaqus are printed in the *.dat file. When the analysis is complete, open the *.dat file using a
text editor (e.g., Notepad, Wordpad, etc.).

9. The user will need to determine which type of section (shell, solid, membrane, or any
combination) contains Helius:MCT user materials. The following step will differ based on if the
model contains solid, shell, or membrane sections. Step 8 in this Users Guide is for a model
containing only solid and shell sections. Similar procedures are executed for models containing
membrane sections.

10. For a model containing solid sections, the *HOURGLASS STIFFNESS parameters for each solid
section are located under the heading S O L I D S E C T I O N (S) in the *.dat file. Each
section has a separate Property Number associated with it (see below). The ordering of the
Property Numbers is based on the ordering of the instance keywords at the assembly level within
the *.inp file. Each part keyword has a finite number of section keywords assigned to that part.
Each part has a corresponding instance. The ordering scheme is then how the individual section
keywords would appear if the parts were ordered in the same order that the instances appear.
The *HOURGLASS STIFFNESS values are located near the bottom of the property number
HOURGLASS CONTROL STIFFNESS (see below).

PROPERTY NUMBER 1

SECTION ORIENTATION NAME ASSEMBLY_PLATE-1_ORI-1
NUMBER OF LAYERS 4
STACK DIRECTION 3
NUMBER OF INTEGRATION POINTS 4

LAYER 1 RELATIVE THICKNESS 0.2500
POINTS 1
MATERIAL IM7/8552
ORIENTATION
POINTS 1
MATERIAL IM7/8552
ORIENTATION ANGLE 45.00 DEGREES
POINTS 1
MATERIAL IM7/8552
ORIENTATION ANGLE -45.00 DEGREES
POINTS 1
MATERIAL IM7/8552
ORIENTATION ANGLE 90.00 DEGREES

THE ROTATION ANGLES ARE MEASURED RELATIVE TO THE LOCAL 3 DIRECTION
OF THE SECTION ORIENTATION

HOURGLASS CONTROL STIFFNESS 2963.3

The hourglass control stiffness value ( 2963.3) should be added to the corresponding solid section
definition in the original *.inp file, as shown below.


** Section: sectionName
2963.3

For a model containing membrane and/or shell section definitions, the extraneous stiffness parameters
that are computed by Abaqus can include any or all of the following: hourglass stiffness control
parameters, transverse shear stiffnesses, section Poisson ratio, and/or thickness modulus. These
parameters can be found in the *.dat file under the general headings of M E M B R A N E S E C T
I O N (S) and/or S H E L L S E C T I O N (S). Within each of these general headings, each
section definition is assigned a separate property number. The ordering of the Property Numbers is
based on the ordering of the instance keywords at the assembly level within the *.inp file. Each part
keyword has a finite number of section keywords assigned to that part. Each part has a corresponding
instance. The ordering scheme is then how the individual section keywords would appear if the parts
were ordered in the same order that the instances appear. For illustration purposes, a portion of the
*.dat file, excerpted from general heading S H E L L S E C T I O N (S) is shown below. This
portion lists the parameters specifically computed for thesecond shell section definition that appeared
in the *.inp file (hence the label "PROPERTY NUMBER 2"). The excerpted text has been color
coded to aid in locating the various extraneous stiffness parameters (section Poisson ratio, hourglass
stiffness control parameters, transverse shear stiffnesses, section thickness modulus).

PROPERTY NUMBER 2

ADDED MASS PER UNIT AREA IS 0.0000

SECTION POISSON RATIO (USED WITH CONVENTIONAL FINTE STRAIN SHELLS ONLY) =
0.50000

EFFECTIVE THICKNESS ELASTICITY (USED WITH SC6R(T) AND SC8R(T) ELEMENTS
ONLY)

D3333 D3311 D3322
1.38200E+06 1.0000 1.0000

THE MIDDLE SURFACE OF THE SHELL IS THE REFERENCE SURFACE (NOT APPLICABLE
FOR SC6R(T) AND SC8R(T) ELEMENTS)

GENERAL SECTION

COMPOSITE WITH 4 LAYERS

SECTION STIFFNESS MATRIX

3.51261E+07 1.12994E+07 4.12604E-10-2.82143E+07-1.16415E-10-4.70238E+06
1.12994E+07 3.51261E+07 2.99750E-08-1.16415E-10 2.82143E+07-4.70238E+06
4.12604E-10 2.99750E-08 1.19134E+07-4.70238E+06-4.70238E+06 0.0000
-2.82143E+07-1.16415E-10-4.70238E+06 5.59842E+07 5.91649E+06 9.62744E-10

-1.16415E-10 2.82143E+07-4.70238E+06 5.91649E+06 5.59842E+07 6.99416E-08
-4.70238E+06-4.70238E+06 0.0000 9.62744E-10 6.99416E-08 6.73512E+06

GENERALIZED STRESSES CAUSED BY THERMAL STRAINS

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

SCALING FACTORS

SECTION THERMAL TEMPERATURE
STIFFNESS EXPANSION

1.0000 1.0000

ORIENTATION ASSEMBLY_PLATE-1_ORI-3

TRANSVERSE SHEAR STIFFNESSES FOR THE SECTION

Kts11 Kts22 Kts12

9.49571E+05 9.49571E+05 5.40040E-12

HOURGLASS CONTROL STIFFNESS

HOURGLASS CONTROL STIFFNESS (USED WITH S4R(T), S4R5, S9R5, S8R5, AND SC8R(T)
ELEMENTS ONLY)

MEMBRANE BENDING

3455.0 2591.2

After locating the values of the required extraneous stiffness parameters, the shell section definition can
be modified as shown below.

** Section: sectionName
*Shell Section, elset="elsetName", composite, orientation=orientationName, THICKNESS
MODULUS=1.38200E+06, POISSON=0.50000,
3455.0, ,2591.2
*TRANSVERSE SHEAR STIFFNESS
9.49571E+05, 9.49571E+05, 5.40040E-12

11. A Helius:MCT failure analysis can now be executed.

Appendix C.4 Using Abaqus/CAE to insert the Extraneous Stiffness
Parameters

xSTIFF Users Guide. Otherwise, Appendix C.4 explains the use of Abaqus/CAE in manually
entering the values of the extraneous stiffness parameters into an Abaqus input file.

After using the procedure described in Appendix C.3 to compute the values of the required
extraneous stiffness parameters, there are two options for inserting the values into the Abaqus input file.
First, the user can directly insert the values into the Abaqus input file using a text editor. In this case, the
user must be aware of the formatting requirements for entering the extraneous stiffness parameters into
the various Section definitions (see Appendices C.2 and C.3 for formatting requirements). A second
option is to import the Abaqus input file back into Abaqus/CAE and use the various editing windows to
enter the extraneous stiffness parameters. The remainder of this section explains the procedure for using
Abaqus/CAE for entering the extraneous stiffness parameters.

After importing the Abaqus input file back into Abaqus/CAE, the user can specify the values of the
Section Poisson Ratio, Section Thickness Modulus, and Section Transverse Shear Stiffnesses in the
Composite Layup Editor (see Figure C29). To access the Composite Layup Editor from the Property
module, click Composite Edit name of layup from the main toolbar. In Figure C29, the
appropriate entry boxes are highlighted. Note that these values can also be specified using a composite
section, as opposed to the composite layup editor.

Figure C29: Locations of Section Poissons Ratio, Thickness Modulus, and Transverse
Shear Stiffness settings in the Edit Composite Layup dialog box

The user can specify the values of the Membrane Hourglass Stiffness Control Parameter and
Bending Hourglass Stiffness Control Parameter in the Element Type dialog box, which is accessed from
the Mesh module by clicking Mesh Element Type from the main toolbar. Figure C30 shows the
Element Type dialog box for a conventional shell element (S4R) with the hourglass stiffness entry boxes
highlighted.

Figure C30: Locations of hourglass stiffness settings in the element type dialog box

For continuum shell elements (SC6R or SC8R elements), there is a known bug in versions 6.8 and
6.9 of Abaqus/CAE that affects the Element Type dialog box. The Element Type dialog box only permits
the user to enter the membrane hourglass stiffness parameter; no space is provided to specify the bending
hourglass stiffness parameter. In light of these Abaqus/CAE bugs, the hourglass stiffness parameters for
continuum shell elements can be entered via the Abaqus/CAE keywords editor or manually entered in the
Abaqus input file using a text editor (discussed in Section 4). The bending hourglass stiffness parameter
can be entered using the Keywords Editor after the membrane hourglass stiffness parameter has been
defined through the Element Type dialog box. To access the Keywords Editor, click on Model Edit
Keywords Name of Model from the main toolbar. Figure C31 shows an example of the Keyword
Editor for a continuum shell section. Note the data line (2500., , 0., 0.) that immediately follows the
*Hourglass Stiffness command. The third value in this data line specifies the bending hourglass stiffness
parameter. As an example, let us assume the value of the bending hourglass stiffness parameter for this

particular section is 1700. The third value, currently 0, should be manually changed from 0 to 1700. The
*Hourglass Stiffness command should now appear as:

*Hourglass Stiffness
2500., , 1700., 0.

Figure C31: Location of hourglass stiffness parameters in the keywords editor

SDV1 is not utilized in Helius:MCT Linear.
Appendix D MCT State Variables for Composite Materials
This appendix provides a description of all solution-dependent MCT state variables. There are a
total of 34 MCT state variables for unidirectional composites and 90 MCT state variables for woven
composites. These solution-dependent state variables are computed or updated by the Helius:MCT User-
Defined Material Subroutine at each integration point within each finite element. Abaqus/Standard stores
the converged values of solution-dependent MCT state variables for each time increment. Unless the
MCT state variables are explicitly renamed via the *DEPVAR statement in the Abaqus input file, the
Abaqus/Standard default naming convention for the MCT solution-dependent state variables is SDVi,
where i=1,2,3,,#of state variables. This appendix provides a complete description of all MCT state
variables. For both unidirectional composites and woven composites, the first state variable (SDV1) has
the same interpretation; however, the interpretation of the remaining state variables (SDV2, SDV3, ...)
depends on the type of composite material (unidirectional or woven). The following list describes each of
the MCT state variables (SDV1, SDV2, SDV3, ...) for unidirectional and woven composite materials.

SDV1: SDV1 (often renamed as MAT_STATE) is a real variable that represents the discrete damage
state of the composite material by assuming a finite number of discrete values between 1 and 3.
The number of discrete values that can be assumed by SDV1 and the interpretation of those
discrete values depend upon the type of composite material (i.e. unidirectional or woven) and
the specific set of material nonlinearity features that are employed by Helius:MCT to describe
the materials response. The following five tables provide the interpretation for each allowable
discrete value of SDV1 for each possible combination of composite material type and set of
material nonlinearity features.

Unidirectional Composite Material
Progressive Failure Analysis (activated)
Pre-Failure Nonlinearity (de-activated)
Energy-Based Degradation (de-activated)
Allowable
Discrete Values
1.0 Undamaged Matrix, Undamaged Fiber
2.0 Failed Matrix, Undamaged Fiber
3.0 Failed Matrix, Failed Fiber

Pre-Failure Nonlinearity (activated)
Allowable
Discrete Values
1.25 Matrix Pre-Failure Degradation Level 1, Undamaged Fiber
2.0 Failed Matrix, Undamaged Fiber
3.0 Failed Matrix, Failed Fiber

Post-Failure Nonlinearity (activated)
Allowable
Discrete Values
2.0 Matrix Post-Failure Degradation Level 1, Undamaged Fiber
2.75 Failed Matrix (Crack Saturation), Undamaged Fiber
3.0 Failed Matrix (Crack Saturation), Failed Fiber

Energy-Based Degradation (activated)
Allowable
Discrete Values

3.0 Fiber Post-Failure Degradation Level 1
3.038 Fiber Matrix Post-Failure Degradation Level 2

3.962 Complete Fiber Failure

Post-Failure Nonlinearity (activated)
Allowable
Discrete Values
3.0 Failed Matrix (Crack Saturation), Failed Fiber

Energy-Based Degradation (activated)
Allowable
Discrete Values

3.038 Fiber Matrix Post-Failure Degradation Level 2

3.962 Complete Fiber Failure

Plain Weave Composite Material
Pre-Failure Nonlinearity (not supported)
Post-Failure Nonlinearity (not supported)
Energy-Based Degradation (not supported)
Allowable
Discrete Values
1.4 Fill matrix failure / unfailed warp
1.6 Warp matrix failure / unfailed fill
2.0 Matrix failure in warp and fill
2.2 Fill fiber and matrix failure / unfailed warp
2.3 Unfailed fill / warp fiber and matrix failure
2.7 Fill fiber and matrix failure / warp matrix failure
2.8 Fill Matrix Failure / warp fiber and matrix failure
3.0 Completely Failed

Unidirectional Composites

For unidirectional composite materials, state variables SDV2, SDV3, ..., SDV34 have the
following interpretations:

SDV2: SDV2 (often renamed as FI_MATRIX) is a continuous real variable that ranges from 0.0 to 1.0
and is used to indicate the fraction of the matrix failure criterion that that has been satisfied.
For example, SDV2 =0.0 implies that the matrix stress state is zero, while SDV2=1.0 implies
that the matrix stress state has reached failure level. Numerically, SDV2 is computed as
SDV2 =
A
m
1

( )
I
m
1
2

A
m
2

( )
I
m
2
2
+ A
m
3
I
m
3
+ A
m
4
I
m
4

A
m
5
I
m
1
I
m
2
which is recognized as the left hand side of the matrix failure criterion (see Section 4 of the
Helius:MCT Theory Manual).

SDV3: SDV3 (often renamed as FI_FIBER) is a continuous real variable that ranges from 0.0 to 1.0
and is used to indicate the fraction of the fiber failure criterion that that has been satisfied. For
example, SDV3 =0.0 implies that the fiber stress state is zero, while SDV3 =1.0 implies that
the fiber stress state has reached failure level. Numerically, SDV3 is computed as
SDV3 =
A

f
1

( )
I

f
1

2
+

A
f
4
I

f
4
which is recognized simply as the left hand side of the fiber failure criterion (see Section 4 of
the Helius:MCT Theory Manual).

SDV4: SDV4 (often renamed as ETA_SM) is the fourth term in the matrix failure criterion and is used
in the pre-failure nonlinearity feature (see Section 4 of the Helius:MCT Theory Manual).

SDV5: SDV5 (often renamed as ETA_NM or EFF_STNL_0) is used for post-failure calculations. If
Post-Failure Nonlinearity is activated, SDV5 is defined as (SDV2 SDV4)/SDV2 and is used
to determine if matrix cracking is present. If Energy-Based Degradation is activated, SDV5 is
defined as a composite effective strain measure at fiber failure.

SDV6: SDV6 (often renamed as SIM_O or EFF_STSL_0) is used for post-failure calculations. If Post-
Failure Nonlinearity is activated, SDV5 is the composite average effective strain at the moment
when the matrix failure criterion is triggered. If Energy-Based Degradation is activated, SDV5
is defined as a composite effective stress measure at fiber failure.

SDV7: SDV7 (often renamed as EFF_STNL) is a measure of the progress of degradation of the
composite after a fiber failure event. If Energy-Based Degradation is not activated, SDV7 is
not used.

SDV8: SDV5 (often renamed as EFF_STNT_0) is defined as a composite effective strain measure at
matrix failure. If Energy-Based Degradation is not activated, SDV8 is not used.

SDV9: SDV6 (EFF_STST_0) is defined as a composite effective stress measure at matrix failure. If
Energy-Based Degradation is not activated, SDV9 is not used.

SDV10: SDV7 (often renamed as EFF_STNT) is a measure of the progress of degradation of the
composite after a matrix failure event. If Energy-Based Degradation is not activated, SDV7 is
not used.

For the case of unidirectional composites, the remaining MCT state variables are used to store the
individual components of the matrix average stress and strain states and the fiber average stress and strain
states.

SDV11:
SDV12:
m
11

SDV13:
m
22

SDV14:
m
33

SDV15:
m
12

SDV16:
m
13

SDV17:
m
23

SDV18:
f
11

SDV19:
f
22

SDV20:
f
33

SDV21:
f
12

SDV22:
f
13

SDV23:
f
23

SDV24:
m
11

SDV25:
m
22

SDV26:
m
33

SDV27:
m
12

SDV28:
m
13

SDV29:
m
23

SDV30:
f
11

SDV31:
f
22

SDV32:
f
33

SDV33:
f
12

SDV34:
f
13

f
23

Woven Composites

For woven composite materials, state variables SDV2, SDV3, ..., SDV90 have the following
interpretations:

SDV1: See previous description of SDV1.

SDV2: SDV2 (also known as FI_FILL_MATRIX) is a continuous real variable that ranges from 0.0 to
1.0 and is used to indicate the fraction of the matrix failure criterion that that has been satisfied
for the matrix constituent within the fill tows.

SDV3: SDV3 (also known as FI_FILL_FIBER) is a continuous real variable that ranges from 0.0 to
1.0 and is used to indicate the fraction of the fiber failure criterion that that has been satisfied
for the fiber constituent within the fill tows.

SDV4: SDV4 (also known as FI_WARP_MATRIX) is a continuous real variable that ranges from 0.0
to 1.0 and is used to indicate the fraction of the matrix failure criterion that that has been
satisfied for the matrix constituent within the warp tows.

SDV5: SDV5 (also known as FI_WARP_FIBER) is a continuous real variable that ranges from 0.0 to
1.0 and is used to indicate the fraction of the fiber failure criterion that that has been satisfied
for the fiber constituent within the warp tows.

SDV6: Not Used

For the case of woven composites, the remaining MCT state variables are used to store the
individual components of the average stress and strain states in the various superconstituents and
constituents (e.g., fill =fill tow superconstituent, warp =warp tow superconstituent, matrix-pocket =
matrix constituent of the intertow matrix pockets, fill-matrix =the matrix constituent of the fill tow, warp-
matrix =the matrix constituent of the warp tow, fill-fiber =the fiber constituent of the fill tow, warp-fiber
=the fiber constituent of the warp tow.

SDV7:
SDV8:
fill
11

SDV9:
fill
22

SDV10:
fill
33

SDV11:
fill
12

SDV12:
fill
13

SDV13:
fill
23

SDV14:
warp
11

SDV15:
warp
22

SDV16:
warp
33

SDV17:
warp
12

SDV18:
warp
13

SDV19:
warp
23

SDV20:
matrix-pocket
11

SDV21:
matrix-pocket
22

SDV22:
matrix-pocket
33

SDV23:
matrix-pocket
12

SDV24:
matrix-pocket
13

SDV25:
matrix-pocket
23

SDV26:
fill-fiber
11

SDV27:
fill-fiber
22

SDV28:
fill-fiber
33

fill-fiber
12

SDV29:
SDV30:
fill-fiber
13

SDV31:
fill-fiber
23

SDV32:
fill-matrix
11

SDV33:
fill-matrix
22

SDV34:
fill-matrix
33

SDV35:
fill-matrix
12

SDV36:
fill-matrix
13

SDV37:
fill-matrix
23

SDV38:
warp-fiber
11

SDV39:
warp-fiber
22

SDV40:
warp-fiber
33

SDV41:
warp-fiber
12

SDV42:
warp-fiber
13

SDV43:
warp-fiber
23

SDV44:
warp-matrix
11

SDV45:
warp-matrix
22

SDV46:
warp-matrix
33

SDV47:
warp-matrix
12

SDV48:
warp-matirx
13

SDV49:
warp-matrix
23

SDV50:
fill
11

SDV51:
fill
22

SDV52:
fill
33

SDV53:
fill
12

SDV54:
fill
13

SDV55:
fill
23

SDV56:
warp
11

SDV57:
warp
22

SDV58:
warp
33

SDV59:
warp
12

SDV60:
warp
13

SDV61:
warp
23

SDV62:
matrix-pocket
11

SDV63:
matrix-pocket
22

SDV64:
matrix-pocket
33

SDV65:
matrix-pocket
12

SDV66:
matrix-pocket
13

matrix-pocket
23

SDV67:
SDV68:
fill-fiber
11

SDV69:
fill-fiber
22

SDV70:
fill-fiber
33

SDV71:
fill-fiber
12

SDV72:
fill-fiber
13

SDV73:
fill-fiber
23

SDV74:
fill-matrix
11

SDV75:
fill-matrix
22

SDV76:
fill-matrix
33

SDV77:
fill-matrix
12

SDV78:
fill-matrix
13

SDV79:
fill-matrix
23

SDV80:
warp-fiber
11

SDV81:
warp-fiber
22

SDV82:
warp-fiber
33

SDV83:
warp-fiber
12

SDV84:
warp-fiber
13

SDV85:
warp-fiber
23

SDV86:
warp-matrix
11

SDV87:
warp-matrix
22

SDV88:
warp-matrix
33

SDV89:
warp-matrix
12

SDV90:
warp-matirx
13

warp-matrix
23

Appendix E MCT State Variables for Cohesive Materials
The nine required state variables for Helius:MCT cohesive materials are defined below. They are
represented in Abaqus/Viewer by SDVN where N is the unique integer which identifies the state variable
(SDV1, SDV2, ... SDV9).

SDV1: The current damage state. This will be an integer between zero and 26. A value of zero
indicates damage has not initiated yet. A value of 26 indicates complete failure (zero
stiffness). Any other value indicates how much damage has been sustained. The states
increment linearly starting at the effective displacement at damage initiation and ending
at the effective displacement at complete failure. This state variable is used primarily as a
tracking device for Helius:MCT. In order to observe damage it is recommended to view
the damage variable (SDV6).

SDV2: A continuous real variable between zero and one which indicates how much of the
damage initiation criterion has been satisfied. A value of zero indicates no loads (or only
normal compressive loads) are acting upon the integration point and therefore are not
satisfying the damage initiation criterion. A value of one indicates damage has initiated
and the stiffness is reducing.

SDV3: The effective traction at damage initiation. The effective traction is defined as:

t
eff
=
{ }
t
n
2
+t
s
2
+t
t
2

SDV4: The effective displacement at damage initiation. The effective displacement is defined as:

m
=
{ }
n
2
+
s
2
+
t
2

SDV5: The maximum effective displacement attained thus far in the loading history. The
effective displacement is defined above.

SDV6: The damage variable, D, a continuous real variable between zero and one which indicates
how much damage has occurred. A value of zero indicates zero damage has accumulated
and the stiffness of the integration point has not degraded any. A value of one indicates a
fully damaged material and consequently zero stiffness.

SDV7: The work done thus far in the normal loading mode (local 3-direction). G
n
=
{ }
t
n
d
n

SDV8: The work done thus far in the first shear loading mode (local 1-direction). G
s
=
t
s
d
s

SDV9: The work done thus far in the second shear loading mode (local 2-direction). G
t
=
t
t
d
t

Appendix F Troubleshooting
Appendix F.1 Manual Resolution of Keyword Conflicts produced by
Abaqus/CAE

At any point during the creation of a finite element model, Abaqus/CAE permits the user to
manually create keyword statements or modify existing keyword statements via the Keyword Editor. If
the Keyword Editor is used to create or modify a particular keyword statement, then Abaqus/CAE no
longer recognizes or manages that particular keyword statement. Consequently, any subsequent tasks that
the user performs in Abaqus/CAE might possibly cause Abaqus/CAE to create new keyword statements
which conflict with the keyword statements that were created or modified by the user via the keyword
editor. These conflicting keyword statements will prevent Abaqus/Standard from completing the pre-
processing phase of the finite element analysis. The conflicting keyword conflicts must be manually
corrected by the user before Abaqus/Standard can be used to compute the finite element solution.

In Step 13 of Section 3.1, the user chooses whether or not to allow the Helius:MCT GUI to change
the default names of the MCT state variables to more descriptive names. If the user permits this action to
occur, then the Helius:MCT GUI adds 6 new data lines to the *DEPVAR keyword statement as shown
below:
Original Modified
Keyword Keyword
Statement Statement
*DEPVAR *DEPVAR
6 6
1 MAT_STATE
2 FI _MATRI X
3 FI _FI BER
4 ETA_SM
5 ETA_NM
6 SI M_O

Even though this modification is performed by the Helius:MCT GUI, Abaqus/CAE treats this
modification as if it were performed by the user via the keyword editor. Consequently, Abaqus/CAE will
no longer recognize the *DEPVAR keyword statement. In this case, the user must be cognizant of the
possibility that Abaqus/CAE will create conflicting keywords in the input file.

One of the most common tasks that could cause Abaqus/CAE to generate conflicting keywords is
the deletion of a Helius:MCT material definition from the model. If, prior to deleting the Helius:MCT
material definition, the user allowed the re-naming of the MCT state variables, then Abaqus/CAE would
no longer recognize the modified *DEPVAR keyword statement. Consequently, Abaqus/CAE would
correctly delete the *MATERIAL and *USER MATERIAL keyword statements, but Abaqus/CAE would
not delete the modified (i.e., unrecognized) *DEPVAR keyword statement. As a result, the model would
contain an extraneous *DEPVAR statement that would conflict with any other Helius:MCT material
definition that is created later.

Resolving Conflict Keywords

To access the models keywords in Abaqus/CAE, select Model Edit Keywords Model
Name as shown in Figure F32.

Figure F32. The process of accessing the Keyword Editor in Abaqus/CAE

The Keywords Editor is shown in

Figure F33. In the Keywords Editor, note the block of text that begins with *Conflicts,
Generated keywords and ends with *Conflicts, End of conflict block. These messages indicate that
there is a keyword conflict contained within the block of text. In this case, the conflict is caused by the
extraneous *DEPVAR statement that is left over from a Helius:MCT material that was deleted earlier.


Figure F33: Keywords Editor, showing a keyword conflict caused by an extraneous
*DEPVAR statement

To manually resolve the keyword conflict, the user should delete the extraneous *DEPVAR
statement (including all 12 of its data lines). The user must also manually delete both of the
*CONFLICTS keyword statements. It should be emphasized that as long as there are user-modified
keywords in the model, there is a possibility that new keyword conflicts will be generated as the user
continues the model creation process in Abaqus/CAE. To completely eliminate the risk of introducing
more keyword conflicts, the user can click the Discard All Edits button in the Keywords Editor. This
operation will result in the reversion of all user-modified keyword statements to the form originally
created by Abaqus/CAE. In this case, the user should be aware that any of the previous modifications
made to the section definitions (see Section 3.3) will be lost.

Appendix F.2 System Error Codes

It is possible that an Abaqus analysis using Helius:MCT can crash in an unexpected manner
resulting in Abaqus reporting a system error code within the .log file. The cause of the error may be from
Abaqus or Helius:MCT and is a result of an undefined error during the analysis. Known causes of system
error codes are listed below. The user should be aware that a specific error code number does not indicate
a specific cause, as Abaqus reports a generalized system error code for multiple undefined errors. If the

user encounters unexpected behavior that they believe may be caused by Helius:MCT they are
encouraged to contact Firehole support.

System Error Code Possible Known Causes
5 A. Composite sections containing multiple Helius:MCT materials may cause
the program to crash unexpectedly during preprocessing. The specific
cause is a varying number of requested state dependent variables
(*DEPVAR keyword) throughout the layup. This problem occurs within
Abaqus and is a known issue up through Abaqus 6.10. To alleviate the
problem set all *DEPVAR values to the same number.

HeliusMCT UsersGuide Abaqus

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