Composite damage analysis subjected to low-velocity impact

A new type of zero-thickness cohesive element model was proposed to study the composite interlaminar damage. The delamination propagation of laminates subjected to low-velocity impact can be prediceted accurately by the model. The model consisted of constitutive relationship, damage criterion and damage evolvement. The model was implemented with the commercial finite element software ABAQUS using the user subroutine VUEL. 3D solid element was used in plies and 3D Hashin damage criterion was used with VUSDFLD to predict the fiber and resin damage. Finally, the model was used to predict the progress of delamination in the impact test and compression after impact (CAI) test of domestic carbon fiber/resin composite (CCF300/5428). The result shows that this cohesive element is effective to detect delamination during impact and CAI.