On the low velocity impact response of laminated composite plates using the P-version Ritz method

Low energy impact in composite laminates is often a crucial and destructive loading condition since it leads to significant internal damage, undetectable by visual inspection. Low velocity impact upon a laminated plate imposes a complex stress state mainly due to the structural heterogeneity resulting by the ply orientation of the constituent laminae and the contact boundary conditions, which lead to a loading path that varies with the impact energy and the properties of the impactor-impacted plate system. The present work deals with the development of a numerical scheme for the calculation of the dynamic response of any type of laminated composite plates under low-velocity impact. The governing non-linear, second order differential equations are derived using p-Ritz admissible polynomial functions and the elastoplastic version of the Hertzian contact law. The dynamic response of fully clamped, cross ply and angle ply composite plates are investigated.