Many researchers have experimentally evaluated the mechanical characteristics of flax-based laminates to understand their behaviour under different loading conditions; however, doing so required significant investment in time, money and other resources. An alternative solution is to use advanced numerical and computational tools like FEA. In this study, low velocity impact analyses of unidirectional and crossply flax/epoxy laminates are performed experimentally and numerically. The numerical simulations are conducted using the commercially available software LS DYNA. The goal is to develop a correlated numerical model, which is able to predict the laminates’ energy absorption capability and damage response. The obtained results show good correlation between the experimental findings and numerical model simulations for the rebounding cases. The results also reveal one major limitation of the current model in that it only yields accurate predictions for impact energies below penetration.
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