An interval-based algorithm for uncertainty quantification in composite structures

Composite materials have been used extensively in the aeronautical and automotive industries. Despite the improved knowledge about the mechanical and dynamic behavior and modes of failure, it is still not well explained some variability from experimental data obtained for, a priory, and nominally identical specimens. Epistemic and aleatory uncertainties are alleged as the main causes for these discrepancies besides the uncertainties from modeling. Regarding the structural damping of such structures, the phenomena involved are not completely revealed nor modeled. This paper presents an interval-based algorithm for uncertainty quantification in composite structures. The α-cut procedures are used to account for the several levels of uncertainty present in material properties, geometrical imperfections and external loading. Due to the lack of reliable statistical information about such uncertainties, the interval-based approach is used in this study and compared with the robust solution by Monte Carlo simulations