Impact analysis of composite laminate using finite element method

Composite materials of various types and forms have become important engineering solutions for the construction of a range of mechanical, aerospace and marine structures. The use of laminated composite materials in fabricating these structures has resulted in a significant increase in payload, weight reduction, speed, fire resistance, maneuverability and durability. This paper addresses the numerical simulation of ballistic impact of composite laminated plates, using finite element method (FEM). The aim of this work is to determine the ballistic limit velocity when changing the lay-up of the laminated plate. These changes can be virtually done by numerical simulation using FEM. Two different models utilising E glass fibre/reinforced epoxy are developed to validate the numerical results at low and high impact velocities. After validating numerical results, different materials such as kevlar and carbon composites are utilised in order to investigate the ballistic impact analysis of the composite laminate. The results of analyses are presented and their trends are discussed.