Generation of design allowables on the open hole tensile strength of composite laminates using sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification framework

Aeronautical industries are concerned about the cost effective generation of design allowables for composite laminates. Design allowables take into account the variabilities arising from different sources (material, manufacturing, defects etc.,) which are determined using expensive and time consuming experimental campaigns. For rapid certification and costs reduction, it is of high interest for the aeronautical industries to use high fidelity numerical models to compliment the testing. In this work, we use a high fidelity numerical model to simulate open hole tension (OHT) of composite laminate, followed by an efficient global sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification and management framework to generate design allowables. In a first step, Morris sensitivity analysis is used to screen the sensitive input material properties that affect the OHT strength. In the second step, machine learning technique is used to create a surrogate model, which is used to obtain the B basis design allowable on the OHT strength.