Finite element analysis of viscoelastic laminates embedded with shape-memory-alloy wires under low-velocity impact considering large deflection

Abstract

This paper presents an experimentally validated finite element analysis of the low-velocity impact on viscoelastic laminates embedded with shape memory alloy (SMA) with consideration of large deflection effects. Substantial impact outputs, including contact force and deflection distribution, are then derived and a fully implicit numerical solution is utilized. The finite element model contains the following innovative items to develop more sophisticated results: (1) A user-defined (UMAT) is prepared in ABAQUS to simulate the viscoelasticity of composite laminate and superelasticity of SMA wires simultaneously. (2) The generalized Maxwell model consisting of 3 Mx elements is utilized for the viscoelastic feature of the composite laminate. (3) A modified phenomenological constitutive law, which is capable of modeling superelasticity and one-way shape memory effect, is used for SMA wires. (4) Large deflection effects on dynamical response are investigated for both conventional and SMA-reinforced composites. Many researchers have not regarded viscoelasticity in their calculation (especially polymeric composites), although the results show that the viscoelastic feature of laminates has a pronounced effect on the dynamical response of composite laminates embedded with SMA wires. It is also shown that large deflection effects have a significant influence on the results of SMA-reinforced composites. This model achieved good conformance with experimental results.