Nonlinear low-velocity impact analysis of matrix cracked hybrid laminated plates containing CNTRC layers resting on visco-Pasternak foundation

This paper investigates the low-velocity impact response of a shear deformable laminated plate which contains both carbon nanotube reinforced composite (CNTRC) layers and fiber reinforced composite (FRC) layers. The effect of matrix cracks is considered and a refined self-consistent model (SCM) is selected to describe the degraded stiffness of the plate. The material properties of both FRC layers and CNTRC layers are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The plate rests on a visco-Pasternak foundation in thermal environments. A modified Hertz model is utilized to describe the contact force between the impactor and the plate. Based on a higher order shear deformation theory and von Kármán nonlinear strain-displacement relationships, the motion equations of the plate are established and solved by means of a two-step perturbation approach. The effects of the crack density, CNT volume fraction, temperature variation and the foundation stiffness on the nonlinear low-velocity impact response of hybrid laminated plates with multiple matrix cracks are discussed in detail.