Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
822804 | Composites Science and Technology | 2006 | 9 Pages |
This paper describes recent progress on materials modelling and numerical simulation of fibre reinforced composite shell structures subjected to high velocity impacts. A continuum damage mechanics (CDM) model for fabric reinforced composites is applied to model both in-ply damage and delamination failure during impact loading. The CDM model has been implemented in a commercial explicit finite element (FE) code in which a laminate is modelled by stacked shell elements with tied interfaces. Delamination failure is modelled by allowing the interfaces to damage and fracture when a delamination failure energy criterion is reached. The code is applied to predict the response of composite shells subjected to gas gun impact tests by a steel impactor under a range of test conditions. A comparison of structural response and failure modes from numerical simulations and impact tests shows good agreement for the prediction of delamination damage and shell penetration at higher impact energies.