Correlation essais-calcul pour materiaux composites en application marine

The use of finite element calculations is valuable in the design of composite structures, but few examples of correlations between measured behaviour and finite element calculations are currently available. After definition of a representative type of structure (a stiffened sandwich boat hull), and construction of a test set-up allowing the loading of such panels (uniform pressure loading of 1 m by 2 m panels), modelling was performed in four laboratories using different finite element codes. The results obtained (deflections and strains) have been correlated with test results. A satisfactory correlation is obtained for deflections (differences around 20% for the central deflection) but the correlation between measured and calculated strains is less satisfactory.