Numerical Modeling of Impact Damage in Aerospace Composites
Publication - August 2020
This study is about damage characteristics in laminated composite structures subjected to low-velocity impact. It deals with the numerical modeling of the low-velocity impact damage of laminated composites, which have increasingly important applications in aerospace primary structures. Such damage, generated by various sources during ground handling, substantially reduces the mechanical residual performance and the safe-service life.
Numerical Modeling of Impact Damage
Numerical modeling is considered one of the most efficient tools compared to expensive and time-consuming experimental testing. A finite element model based on explicit dynamics formulations is adopted. The Hashin criterion is applied to predict the intralaminar damage initiation and evolution. The numerical analysis is performed using the ABAQUS® programme.
Force-time Response and Damage Parameter Maps
The employed modeling approach is validated using corresponding numerical data found in the literature, showing a reasonable correlation to the available literature data. The model captures the force-time response and damage parameter maps for different impact cases with respect to boundary conditions and impact energies.
High Capability as a Damage Assessment Computational Tool
Low-velocity impact damage of laminated composites is still not well understood due to the complexity and non-linearity of the damage zone. The presented model predicts the force-time response and captures the damage shape evolution, demonstrating a high capability as a damage assessment computational tool.
Authors
- Konstantinos Stamoulis
- Stelios K. Georgantzinos
- G. I. Giannopoulos
Aviation Engineering research group
The aviation industry must become smarter and more sustainable. The Aviation Engineering research group is ensuring the sector has all the knowledge and insights it needs to transition to, and develop, more-efficient en more-environmentally friendly engineering and operational practices.