An Analytical Method for Evaluation of Impact Damage Energy of Laminated Composites

A higher order beam finite element is developed for computing the dynamic response of laminated beams subjected to impact of a hard object. The contact force as well as the indentation are obtained by using the Hertzian contact law. By assuming a certain unloading path, the total energy imparted from the projectile to the beam and the damage energy that causes permanent indentations are computed. Laminated cantilever beams of a glass-epoxy composite impacted by a steel ball are investigated. Part of the analytical results is in good agreement with existing experimental data.