Abstract
Laminated composites have important applications in modern aeronautical structures due to their extraordinary mechanical and environmental behaviour. Nevertheless, aircraft composite structures are highly vulnerable to impact damage, either by low-velocity sources during maintenance or high-velocity sources during in-flight events. Even barely visible impact damage induced by low-velocity loading, substantially reduces the residual mechanical performance and the safe-service life of the composites structures. Despite the extensive research already carried out, impact damage of laminated composite structures is still not well understood and it is an area of on-going research. Numerical modelling is considered as the most efficient tool as compared to the expensive and time-consuming experimental testing. In this paper, a finite element model based on explicit dynamics formulations is adopted. Hashin criterion is applied to predict the intra-laminar damage initiation and evolution. The numerical analysis is performed using the ABAQUS® programme. The employed modelling approach is validated using numerical results found in the literature and the presented results show an acceptable correlation to the available literature data. It is demonstrated that the presented model is able to capture force-time response as well as damage evolution map for a range of impact energies.
Highlights
IntroductionLaminated composites are increasingly being used in the aviation industry due to their superior mechanical properties (specific stiffness and strength) and their competitive, through-life environmental behaviour (fatigue and corrosion resistance)
Laminated composites are increasingly being used in the aviation industry due to their superior mechanical properties and their competitive, through-life environmental behaviour
These characteristics make them preferred materials for lightweight and more efficient aerospace structures, all of which translates into reduced costs [1]. It is well-known that aircraft composite structures are susceptible to impact damage, either by low-velocity sources during maintenance or high-velocity sources during in-flight events
Summary
Laminated composites are increasingly being used in the aviation industry due to their superior mechanical properties (specific stiffness and strength) and their competitive, through-life environmental behaviour (fatigue and corrosion resistance) These characteristics make them preferred materials for lightweight and more efficient aerospace structures, all of which translates into reduced costs [1]. A finite element approach is adopted for the low-velocity impact simulations of the laminated composite structure that accounts for intralaminar damage (matrix and fibre-dominated damage). The presented computational approach is able to predict the force-time response generated due to the impact which is considered as the most important parameter influencing the structural integrity of the structure It can capture damage parameter maps showing the damage shape evolution in the matrix material or fibre, and can be used as a damage assessment computational tool
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