Failure criteria normally predict the failure of a material subjected to multi-axial state of stresses. The Factor of Safety check assesses the safety of the model based on a selected failure criterion.
A material may behave in a ductile or brittle manner depending on the temperature, rate of loading, chemical environment, and the formation process. No single failure criterion is best applicable to a material under all conditions.
You should use all the information available to you about the material to select a failure criterion. You can try more than one stress criterion to assess the safety of the model.
The software supports the following failure criteria:
- Maximum von Mises Stress Criterion
- Maximum Shear Stress Criterion
- Mohr-Coulomb Stress Criterion
- Maximum Normal Stress Criterion
(for composite shells)
For models with composite shells the following failure criteria are supported:
- Maximum stress criterion
- Tsai-Hill failure criterion
- Tsai-Wu failure criterion
See help topic Composite Failure Criteria for more information.