Prediction of impact induced penetration and delamination in thick composite laminates

A static punch curve was used as the ‘structural constitutive model’ to capture the highly nonlinear behavior of the laminate in the penetration process of thick laminates. A penetration model based on a ring element was first used to simulate the static punch curve. The model was then used to predict the dynamic penetration process of large panels using the information obtained from the static punch curve of a smaller specimen. The model was...