A numerical analysis of CFRP laminate behaviour under high-velocity impact

SIMCRASH Centre, Department of Aeronautical Engineering Hindustan Institute of Technology Science, Padur,Kelambakkam, Chennai, 603103, India.

^* Corresponding author: pritamrajghosh@gmail.com

Abstract

This work focuses on the numerical investigation of the ballistic and delamination mechanisms of T700 carbon fibre/epoxy laminate with a [0/90]s stacking sequence. The effect of the mass and diameter of spherical projectiles on CFRP laminate is investigated numerically. A numerical study of projectiles with different diameters (6mm, 10 mm, and 12mm) on CFRP laminates with thicknesses of 1.5mm and 3mm is conducted, encompassing a broad spectrum of projectile incident velocities (from 500 m/s to 1700 m/s). Furthermore, a numerical model containing cohesive elements is developed and verified using experimental results from the literature. When compared to experimental results, the numerical simulation results were found to be within acceptable ranges. On comparing the effect of laminate thickness, it was determined that 1.5mm laminates had better energy absorption capability as velocity increased compared to 3mm laminates. The results indicated that the energy absorption capability of the 3mm laminate was reduced by 8.8%, whereas the 1.5mm laminate was reduced by 3%. A study using multi-layered laminate is studied, and a parametric study is carried out with projectiles of different mass and size. The results from the parametric study concluded that smaller geometry projectiles induced more significant damage in the laminate than larger geometry projectiles with constant mass.