Numerical simulation of impact tests on GFRP composite laminates

The design of advanced composite structures or components subjected to dynamic loadings requires a deep understanding of the damage and degradation mechanisms occurring within the composite material. The present paper deals with the numerical simulation of low-velocity impact tests on glass fabric/epoxy laminates through the LS-DYNA Finite Element (FE) code. Two laminates of different thickness were subjected to transverse impact at different energy levels and modeled by FE. Solid finite elements combined with orthotropic failure criteria were used to model the composite failure and stress based contact failure between plies were adopted to model the delamination mechanism. The final simulation results showed a good correlation with experimental data in terms of both force-displacement curves and material damage. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.