Effect of Plate Curvature on Blast Response of Carbon/Epoxy Composite

Experimental and numerical studies were conducted to understand the effect of plate curvature on the blast response of carbon/epoxy composite panels. A shock-tube system was utilized to impart controlled shock loading to quasi-isotropic composite panels with varying radii of curvature. A 3D digital image correlation (DIC) technique coupled with high-speed photography was used to assess the out-of-plane deflection of composite panels. A finite element (FE) model integrating fluid-structure interaction to represent coupling between the air surrounding composite panels, shock wave and panels, was developed using a general-purpose FE software ABAQUS/Explicit. The numerical results were compared to the experimental data and showed a good correlation.