A variational iteration solution for elastic–plastic impact of polymer/clay nanocomposite plates with or without global lateral deflection, employing an enhanced contact law

In the present paper, characteristics of low/medium velocity impact responses of thin nanocomposite plates impacted by rigid spherical indenters are investigated. The plates may either have lateral deflections or resting on rigid substrates. It is obvious that for thin plates with transverse mobility subjected to impact with rigid indenters, the actual indentation value is much less than that predicted by the traditional Hertz-type laws. A modified contact law that takes into account effects of the plate thickness and boundary conditions is employed in the present research. The variational iteration method is employed to develop a closed form semi-analytical solution. In comparison with the available numerical solution procedures, convergence of the present solution scheme is much higher and the solution algorithm converges unconditionally. Therefore, novelties may be found in the treated subject, modeling procedure, and solution algorithm. Comparisons made with results of the available numerical procedures, reveal the efficiency and accuracy of the presented solution algorithm.