A Model for the Energy Absorption Capability of Composite Laminates

A new methodology for the analysis of impact data has been recently proposed [1], based on the definition of two normalised coefficients, the absorption coefficient (ratio of absorbed to penetration energy) and the intensity coefficient (ratio of impact to penetration energy). The new approach allowed the definition of an empirical master curve suitable to summarize the impact data irrespectively of material system, laminate thickness and lay-up. This work is oriented to quantitatively validate the master curve on the basis of experimental impact data previously obtained and other “external” data taken from the open literature, referred to laminates with significant variation of properties in terms of type and architecture of the reinforcing fibers, lay-up and thickness. In spite of the very large number of data collected for the validation, the master curve turned out suitable to describe all the normalized data with a reasonably reduced scatter.