FEM simulation of 3D angle-interlock woven composite under ballistic impact from unit cell approach

Ballistic impact damage of 3D angle-interlock woven composite (3DAWC) under a hemispherical-cylindrical steel projectile has been investigated in experimental and finite element method (FEM) based on a unit cell model. In the unit cell model, the composite was simplified into a combination of resins, weft yarns and warp yarns to define the stiffness matrix and failure evolution of the material. VUMAT (FORTRAN vectorized user-material) subroutine which based on the unit cell model has been developed and connected with commercial FEM code ABAQUS/Explicit (ver. 6.8) to calculate the ballistic impact damage and energy absorption of the composite. The experimental and FEM results of residual velocities of the projectile, and damages of the composite target were compared. Good agreement between experimental and theoretical proves the unit cell model and the VUMAT subroutine are reasonable for ballistic performance design of the 3D angle-interlock woven composite.