Intra-ply Damage Modeling of Low-Velocity Impact on Composite Laminates

Abstract

This paper deals with the intra-ply damage modeling of graphite/epoxy composite laminates subjected to the low-velocity impact loads. In this work, a cross ply laminate of dimensions 80 × 80 × 2.1 mm with stacking sequence [0/90/0/90/0] is subjected to impact by a rigid impactor of mass 6.5 kgs. The finite element simulation carried out using perfectly elastic, 3-D Hashin damage and 3-D Damage meso-level (3-D DML) models. Fiber and matrix failure modes are considered in both the damage models. User subroutine (VUMAT) was implemented for damage models and analysis was carried on ABAQUS^TM software. The force and displacement-time response are computed at 5J and 10J of impact energies. The effect of damage models on force and displacement-time response with change in impact energy are presented. Comparing the maximum forces and displacement-time response, 3-D DML model shows close agreement, whereas the 3-D Hashin model underpredicts the maximum force and overpredicts the maximum displacement with the literature.