Modeling perforation in glass fiber reinforced composites subjected to low velocity impact loading

In this article, experimental results are presented investigating the response of glass fiber composites subjected to low velocity impact loading. The resulting load-displacement traces and deformation modes have been used to validate a number of numerical models. Here, finite element models have been developed to predict the impact behavior of the composite plates. Damage in the woven glass-fiber reinforced composite plate was modeled using the Hashin failure criteria. The influence of target size, projectile size, projectile shape, and striking location on the impact response of the composites was investigated. In general, good agreement was obtained in terms of the load-displacement traces and the failure modes in the composite plates. It has been shown that the perforation energy increases rapidly with target thickness, with the numerical results closely agreeing with the experimental data. Similarly, the energy required to perforate the composite targets increases with increasing projectile diameter, with the failure mechanisms being similar in all cases. Finally, increasing the bluntness of the impactor resulted in a significant increase in the energy to perforate these targets.