TRANSIENT STRESSES GENERATED BY LOW-VELOCITY IMPACT ON ORTHOTROPIC LAMINATED CYLINDRICAL-SHELLS

The transient stress response of an orthotropic laminated open cylindrical shell impacted by a solid striker is investigated. An analytic solution which includes both transverse shear and contact deformation is presented and used in this study. A higher-order shear deformation theory is employed and solutions for the loads, displacements and strains are obtained using Fourier series expansions. An analytic impact force function recently proposed by the authors is used to predict the contact force between the striker and the shell and this is incorporated into the solution. By using this solution, transient stress distributions in the shell during impact are analyzed and the locations of maximum stresses determined. In addition, the effects of shell thickness and curvature on the maximum stresses induced are examined and discussed.