Effects of structural damping and stiffness on impact response of layered structure

The transient response of layered structures subjected to low-velocity impact is dealt with, A spring-mass model is improved by implementing the structural damping to determine the contact force between the target and striker during impact. Based on this model, an analytic function describing the contact force is derived in terms of the material properties, structural mass, impact mass, and velocity, as well as the structural damping. A finite element approach (FEA) is proposed for the prediction of transient response of layered structures subjected to low-velocity impact. In the FEA, the present impact force function is linked into a commercial code in which the effects of effective structural damping and stiffness are incorporated. The present impact force function is verified by the experiment, and the FEA is verified by comparing the present results with previously published results. In addition, effects of structural damping and stiffness on transient response of layered structure subjected to low-velocity impact are examined in detail.