An efficient numerical approach to the prediction of laminate tolerance to Barely Visible Impact Damage

An efficient numerical approach for the prediction of the Compression After Impact (CAI) strength of aerospace-grade CFRP laminates when exposed to Barely Visible Impact Damage (BVID) is proposed. The approach is based on mapping relevant BVID features, i.e. delaminations, onto an efficient CAI finite element model based on continuum shell discretization, and can be used on Low-Velocity Impact (LVI) results obtained experimentally or by means of...