Numerical validation and parametric analysis of tension behaviour in tiled laminates using an enhanced 3D progressive damage model

• An enhanced 3D Progressive Damage Model (3D PDM) is proposed to characterise tensile behaviour of tiled laminates (TLs). • Comparisons between experimental and numerical results demonstrate the 3D PDM is superior to the built-in 2D PDM in ABAQUS. • This study investigates the effects of inclination angle, geometric configuration, and ply arrangement on TL’s tensile behaviour. • Including out-of-plane stiffness degradation enables a more accurate representation of TL’s tensile mechanical behaviour. Tiled laminates (TLs) are an innovative class of composite materials designed for applications in FRP bridges. To investigate their mechanical behaviour under tensile loading, an enhanced three-dimensional progressive damage model (3D PDM) incorporating out-of-plane stiffness degradation (both tensile and shear moduli) is developed and validated against experimental results. Based on this, a parametric analysis is conducted to systematically examine the effects of inclination angle, geometric configuration, layup arrangement, and out-of-plane stiffness degradation on the mechanical performance. The results indicate that increasing the inclination angle significantly reduces the ultimate load-bearing capacity and shifts the failure mode from intra-layer damage to inter-layer failure. Further, using an overlapping geometric configuration significantly improves the ultimate tensile strength. Moreover, ignoring out-of-plane stiffness degradation significantly overestimates the tensile load-carrying capacity. These findings demonstrate the reliability of the established model, and provide a scientific basis for the design optimisation and engineering application of TLs.