Modelling of perforation failure in fibre metal laminates subjected to high impulsive blast loading

Perforation failure of fibre metal laminate (FML) panels subjected to the localized high intensity blast loading is studied. The FMLs are based on various stacking configurations of aluminium alloy sheets and layers of woven glass fibre in a polypropylene matrix (GFPP) composite. Finite element models of the FMLs were created using the commercial software package Abaqus/Explicit, where the constitutive relationships and damage in the composite material were described through a user-defined subroutine. The composite was modelled as an orthotropically elastic material prior to damage initiation and the growth of subsequent damage was based on an instant failure rate-dependent model. The simulated deformation and failure modes in the FMLs were found to be in good agreement with published experimental data. For FMLs based on thin GFPP layers, a number of dynamic failure scenarios were captured, such as petalling, large tensile tearing and multiple debonding between the aluminium and GFPP layers. A high degree of correlation between simulated failure on the back face aluminium and the underlying GFPP damage modes was revealed. Finally, the transient behaviour of FML panels during blast loading was studied and discussed.