Damage Initiation and Propagation in Composites Subjected to Low-Velocity Impact:Experimental Results,3D Dynamic Damage Model,and FEM Simulations

A three-dimensional dynamic damage model that fits both small and large damage sizes is developed to predict impact damage initiation and propagation for each lamina of T300-carbon/epoxy laminations. First,13 specimens of the same lamination sequence are subjected to three different impact energies(10 J,15 J,and 20 J).After the impact,the laminates are inspected by the naked eye to observe the damage in the outer layers,and subsequently X-rayed to detect the inner damage. Next,the stress analysis of laminates subjected to impact loading is presented,based on the Hertz contact law and virtual displacement principle. Based on the analysis results,a threedimensional dynamic damage model is proposed,including the Hou failure criteria and Camanho stiffness degradation model,to predict the impact damage shape and area. The numerical predictions of the damage shape and area show a relatively reasonable agreement with the experiments. Finally,the impact damage initiation and propagation for each lamina are investigated using this damage model,and the results improve the understanding of the impact process.