Effects of damage thresholds on stresses in composite laminates under transverse impact

Studies on stresses and damage in fiber reinforced polymeric matrix composite laminates subjected to transverse impact are conducted by a 3D finite element analysis. The stress analysis is carried out by developing a constitutive equation including damage variables, therefore, effects of damage and damage thresholds on the stresses in the laminates can be investigated. Effects of damage threshold of matrix materials on stresses suggest suitable matrix materials for composite laminates, which could improve damage tolerance of the composite laminates, and resistance of the composite laminates to impact could be improved significantly by increasing the damage threshold.