A progressive damage model for fiber reinforced plastic composites subjected to impact loading

A progressive damage model is proposed herein to predict the response and failure of fiber reinforced plastic laminates subjected to impact loadings. The present model is mainly composed of three parts: First, quadratic stress based failure criteria are presented to predict the onset of various damage modes. Second, the post-damage softening response is controlled by a linear form damage evolution law combined with the fracture energy approach. Stiffness progressive reduction is characterized by a variable determined by equivalent displacement for each failure mode and in doing so the mesh dependency can be reduced appreciably. Third, strain rate dependency of the strength and the modulus of FRP laminated materials are also considered. Comparisons are made between the present numerical results and some available test data. It transpires that the present model predictions are in good agreement with the experimental observations in terms of force-displacement curve, deformation profile, ballistic limit and residual velocity. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.