Low-velocity impact damage on dispersed stacking sequence laminates. Part II: Numerical simulations

This paper is the follow-up on the previous work by the authors on the experimental evaluation of the impact damage resistance of laminates with dispersed stacking sequences. The current work focuses on the evaluation of the impact performance of the tested laminates by innovative numerical methods. Constitutive models which take into account the physical progressive failure behaviour of fibres, matrix, and interfaces between plies were implemented in an explicit finite element method and used in the simulation of low-velocity impact events on composite laminates. The computational effort resulted in reliable predictions of the impact dynamics, impact footprint, locus and size of delaminations, matrix cracks and fibre damage, as well as the amount of energy dissipated through delaminations, intraply damage and friction. The accuracy achieved with this method increases the reliability of numerical methods in the simulation of impact loads enabling the reduction of the time and costs associated with mechanical testing.