Damage prediction of thick composite laminates subjected to low-velocity impact loads

Experimental and numerical studies have been carried out to predict the behavior of composite laminates under low-velocity impact loads. Numerical models were built based on shell elements in order to simulate it efficiently. A strain-based failure theory was employed to predict the damaged area of laminates using a user-defined subroutine. Drop-weight impact tests were performed for verifying the analysis results of the low-velocity impact. The damaged areas were inspected using ultrasonic C-scans, and three types of thick composite laminates were examined. The impactor velocity was measured at time before and after contact with the target. Finally, the proposed numerical model with the failure theory was verified in that it well predicted the impact damage of the three composite laminates chosen for this study.

Automated summary

Experimental and numerical studies were conducted to predict the behavior of composite laminates under low-velocity impact loads. A numerical model with shell elements was used to efficiently simulate the laminates, and a strain-based failure theory was employed to predict the damaged area. The results were verified through drop-weight impact tests and ultrasonic C-scan inspections.