Effects of stacking sequence and rotation angle of patch on low velocity impact performance of scarf repaired laminates

In this paper, a 3D progressive finite element model was established to simulate scarf repaired laminates subjected to low velocity impact, in which intralaminar damage evolution was captured by user-defined subroutine and interlaminar delamination was simulated via the failure of zero-thickness cohesive elements inserted between plies. By comparison, the numerical results are in good agreement with experimental results. Based on the validated model, the effects of patch stacking sequence and rotation angle on low velocity performances (impact loads and damages) of scarf repaired laminates were investigated respectively. Both of them have effects on the impact performance of scarf repaired laminates, but patch rotation angle has greater effect than patch stacking sequence.