Impact resistance and damage tolerance of fiber reinforced composites: A review

The damage tolerance of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) to Barely Visible Impact Damage (BVID) is a critical design limiter for composite structures. This study investigated the key driving mechanisms and damage evolution of the compressive failure of laminated composites containing BVID using compression after impact and indentation (CAI) tests. Experiments were carried out on two similar quasi-isotropic laminates: [45 2 /90 2 /0 2 /−45 2 ] 2S and [45/90/0/−45] 4S . Matrix cracking and delaminations were introduced by either low-velocity impact or quasi-static indentation tests prior to the CAI tests. The full-field displacement during CAI as well as the moment of rupture was captured by 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC). The effect of ply-blocking and influence of factors, such as impact energy, delamination area and surface indentation, on compressive failure was studied. Previously validated high-fidelity finite element (FE) numerical models for the indentation and impact events were then used to investigate the damage evolution during CAI failure.

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Failure mechanisms and damage evolution of laminated composites under compression after impact (CAI): Experimental and numerical study

Impact resistance and damage tolerance are of great significance in the design of composite structures. This study investigated the damage and failure mechanism of thin composite laminates under low-velocity impact and compression-after-impact (CAI) loading conditions. Four levels of impact energy were included in the test matrix. Delamination induced by low-velocity impact was captured using ultrasonic C-scan, and a three-dimensional (3D) digital image correlation (DIC) system was employed to measure full-field displacement during the CAI tests. Infrared thermography was also used to online monitor the thermal field variation of the test specimen during the impact and CAI process. The cross sections of typical tested specimens were inspected using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). A 3D damage model that considers both interlaminar and intralaminar damage was proposed to study the complex damage and failure mechanism. Excellent correlation was obtained between the experimental results and the numerical results. The experimental results obtained from various tests and the results from the numerical simulation were combined to provide a new and deep insight of damage evolution and failure mechanisms under low-velocity impact and CAI loading conditions.

Damage and failure mechanism of thin composite laminates under low-velocity impact and compression-after-impact loading conditions

This work investigates the effects of carbon/glass/basalt hybridization and fabric structure on the low velocity impact resistance of fibre reinforced plastic composites. Interply hybrid specimens used in the study were fabricated in a sandwich-like stacking sequence using a vacuum assisted resin infusion molding technique. Low velocity impact tests were carried out to study the effects of hybridization and fabric structure on the impact resistance of composite laminates. A continuum damage mechanical model was developed and validated for non-hybrid woven fabric laminates at different impact energy levels. Residual damage characteristics were identified using a 3D surface scanning system and an X-ray computed tomography (CT) method. On the basis of the experimental results, numerical simulation was also conducted to explore the damage mechanisms of the hybrid laminates. The study showed that: (a) hybrid laminates with carbon fibre as the core exhibited superior impact resistance for sandwich-like stacking sequence; (b) similar impact behaviors appeared for carbon laminates hybridised with either basalt or glass fibre; (c) for basalt fibre, weave fabric composite laminates exhibited better energy absorption capability and deformation resistance than cross-ply laminates reinforced in unidirectional fabrics.

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Low velocity impact behavior of interlayer hybrid composite laminates with carbon/glass/basalt fibres

Review and benchmark study on the analysis of low-velocity impact on composite laminates

https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/117270186/Impact_paper_XCS_SRH_Revised_final.pdf

Barely visible impact damage in scaled composite laminates: Experiments and numerical simulations

https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/54267204/Sun_Comp_Struct_2016_Indent_Part_2_FE_pre_print.pdf

Interaction of inter- and intralaminar damage in scaled quasi-static indentation tests: Part 2 - Numerical Simulation

https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/53775494/Sun_Comp_Struct_2016_Indent_Part_1_Experiments.pdf

Interaction of inter- and intralaminar damage in scaled quasi-static indentation tests: Part 1 – Experiments

https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/173117774/Impact_damage_paper_UoB_QQ_Revised_Final.pdf

X.C. Sun

Papers

Failure mechanisms and damage evolution of laminated composites under compression after impact (CAI): Experimental and numerical study

Barely visible impact damage in scaled composite laminates: Experiments and numerical simulations

Interaction of inter- and intralaminar damage in scaled quasi-static indentation tests: Part 2 - Numerical Simulation

Interaction of inter- and intralaminar damage in scaled quasi-static indentation tests: Part 1 – Experiments

Comparison of low velocity impact modelling techniques for thermoplastic and thermoset polymer composites