Experiments and simulation of low-velocity impact characteristics on carbon fiber composite lattice core sandwich structures

Since composite sandwich structures are susceptible to low-velocity impact damage,a thorough characterization of the loading and damage process during impact is important.In the present paper,the low-velocity impact response of carbon fiber composites lattice structures is investigated by experimental and numerical methods.Impact tests on composite plates are performed using an instrumented drop-weight machine(Instron 9250HV)and a new damage mode is observed.A three-dimensional finite element model is built by ABAQUS/Explicit and user subroutine(VUMAT)to predict the peak loading and simulate the complicated damage problem.The numerical predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results.