Failure in composite laminates: overview of an attempt at prediction

Success with the high strain rate testing of polymer composites has been limited by the ability to isolate the inherent inertial disturbances attributed to the test system. This necessitated the development of a technique for the prediction of high strain rate material property data. The resulting data were used in a finite element analysis (FEA) to simulate impact behaviour of glass fibre reinforced composites. High strain rate properties obtained by extrapolating results of experiments conducted at low to intermediate strain rates were used in the FEA of a simple three-point bend beam impact. Three point bend impact tests were performed on the laminates, and comparisons were made of the results predicted from this analysis and actual impact test data. The results show that the finite element model created may be used to predict the behaviour of woven glass laminates. However, the inclusion of flexible post-failure degradation rules to allow for progressive damage, will improve the accuracy of the analysis. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.