PREDICTION OF IMPACT-INDUCED PENETRATION AND DELAMINATION IN THICK COMPOSITE LAMINATES

A static punch curve was used as the 'structural constitutive model' t o capture the highly nonlinear behavior of the laminate in the penetra tion process of thick laminates. A penetration model based on a ring e lement was first used to simulate the static punch curve. The model wa s then used to predict the dynamic penetration process of large panels using the information obtained from the static punch curve of a small er specimen. The model was shown to predict the penetration process fo r short and long projectiles. The area of the target that becomes dela minated during impact was shown to increase when the impact velocity w as increased until the ballistic limit, beyond which the delamination area decreases with an increase in impact velocity. This phenomenon an d the area that is delaminated for different size targets at different impact velocities were accurately predicted by the ring element model in conjunction with a critical shear strain criterion. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.