Ballistic performance and damage simulation of fiber metal laminates under high-velocity oblique impact

Fiber metal laminates have been successfully applied in military aircrafts, armor vehicles and other modern engineering industries as protective structures due to their outstanding impact resistant properties. Prediction of the ballistic performance and investigation on the damage mechanism of the fiber metal laminates under general oblique impact conditions still remain a very challenging issue. In this study, a nonlinear dynamic finite element model in terms of continuum damage mechanics including intra- and inter-layer failure modes is presented. The accuracy of this model is validated with available experimental data. The damage and ballistic performance of two different structural fiber metal laminates subjected to high-velocity oblique impact by rigid hemispherical nose projectile with angles of 0 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees and 60 degrees are studied. The numerical results show that the projectile deflects when the oblique impact occurs and the deflection angle decreases with increasing the impact velocity. The residual velocity of the projectile and the energy absorption of the target are related to the initial impact velocity and impact angle of the projectile. The proposed simulation approach offers a new proper reference for numerical investigations of common oblique impact problems in other fiber metal laminates.