Numerical investigation on the repeated low-velocity impact behavior of composite laminates

The dynamic mechanical responses and damage development of cross-ply composite laminates under repeated low-velocity impact are investigated through finite element simulations with ABAQUS/Explicit. A progressive damage model for laminates, consisting of the continuum damage model, the 3D Hashin failure criterion and the damage evolution model based on equivalent displacement, is integrated with the bilinear traction-separation relationship cohesive model to simulate the damage initiation, evolution and propagation behavior of different damage modes in composite laminates. Compared with the experimental results, the established finite element model was validated through the global mechanical response and damage distribution contous. Besides, a mesh refinement study was performed by using three different element sizes. The validated model was adopted to investigate the repeated impact behaviors of composite laminates under three different energies. The qualitative conclusions about the effects of repeated impact on global mechanical response were summarized by the changes of impact force, displacement, contact time and energy absorption. Moreover, the effects of repeated impact on the damage characteristics and expansions of matrix and delamination were discussed in detail.