Impact behavior and impact damage analysis of CFRP composite structures

Fiber reinforced composite materials are widely used at various fields for weight savings because of their high specific stiffness and strength. However, they have low toughness and can be easily damaged from impact loading. Impact damage of fiber reinforced laminated composite structure is very complicated with various damage modes such as fiber breakage, matrix crack, delamination and so on. Impact tests of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite plates were performed at various impact energies to investigate impact behavior and impact damage. Impact damage of the composite plates was inspected with C-scan and light microscope. For numerical impact analysis of composite plates, composite damage model based on continuum damage mechanics and failure criteria was used. It was implemented in the user defined material subroutine of ABAQUS/explicit, VUMAT. Impact analyses of CFRP composite plates were performed with finite element analysis (FEA) program, ABAQUS/explicit, and the developed damage model. Analysis results were compared with experimental data. The analysis model reasonably estimated the impact behavior and damage area of composite plates.