PurposeIn the article, analytical model of first-order shear deformation (FSDT) beams made of jute–epoxy is presented to study the low-velocity impact response.Design/methodology/approachThe nonlinear Hertz contact law is applied to identify the contact between projectile and beam. The energy method, Lagrange's equations and Ritz method are applied to derive the nonlinear governing equation of the beam and impactor-associated boundary condition. The motion equations are then solved simultaneously by the Runge–Kutta fourth-order method.FindingsAlso, a comparison is performed to validate the model predictions. The contact force and beam indentation histories of the jute–epoxy simply supported beam under spherical impactor with different radius and initial velocity are investigated in detail. It is found that in response to impactor radius increase, the utilization of the contact force law has resulted in a same increasing trend of peak contact force, impact duration and beam indentation, while in response to impactor initial velocity increase, the maximum contact force and beam indentation increase while impact time has vice versa trend.Originality/valueThis paper fulfills an identified need to study how jute–epoxy beam behavior with simply supported boundary conditions under low-velocity impact can be enabled.

PurposeThe main objective of this article is to develop a theoretical formulation for predicting the response of CNTs reinforced beam under multiple impactors with general boundary conditions, using first-order shear deformation beam theory.Design/methodology/approachThe rule of mixtures is implemented to derive the material properties of the beam. The nonlinear Hertz contact law is applied for simulation between impactors and the surface of the beam. A combination of approaches includes energy method, Ritz method and generalized Lagrange equations are used to extract the matrix form of equations of motion. The time-domain solution is obtained using implementing the well-known Runge Kutta 4th order method.FindingsAfter examining the accuracy of the present method, the effects of the number of impactors include one impactor, and three impactors in various CNTs volume fraction are studied for CNTs reinforced beam with clamped-clamped, clamped-free and simply supported boundary conditions under the low-velocity impact. The most important finding of this article is that contact force and beam indentation at the middle of the beam in the case of one impactor are greater than those reported in the case of three impactors.Originality/valueThis article fulfills an identified need to study how CNTs reinforced beam behaviour with general boundary conditions under multiple low-velocity impacts can be enabled.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of graphene platelets (GPLs) on the low-speed contact between a mass and surface of a multi-layer polymer beam. Design/methodology/approach This problem is primarily organized by first-order shear deformation beam theory and nonlinear Hertz rule. GPLs are distributed along the beam thickness direction. The Halpin–Tsai micromechanics model is applied for computing the effective Young’s modulus of the GPLs/polymer composites. In the formulation process, the principle of conservation of energy is first used and the histories of results are extracted using the separation of variables and Runge–Kutta method. Findings In comparing the responses with the available data, a good agreement is observed. The effects of the weight fraction and distribution pattern on the impact response of polymer beam reinforced with GPLs are studied. Results show that contact force is increased, contact time and beam recess are decreased with increasing of weight fraction of GPLs. Also, among the different distribution patterns, the contact force depended on value of GPLs at the point of contact. Originality/value The effects of GPLs addition on the multi-layer polymer beam has a novelty in impact problems.

Purpose This paper aims to present the potential of using aligned single-layer graphene sheets to reinforce the methyl methacrylate cantilever beam in low-velocity impact problem. Design/methodology/approach The Halpin–Tsai law is applied to compute the mechanical properties of isotropic polymer beam reinforced by aligned graphene sheet. Using both longitudinal and lateral displacements in composite beam, all components of the stress and strain fields are written. The equations of motion are derived by applying energy method, generalized Lagrange equations and Ritz method. Findings The analytical formulation accuracy is corroborated by comparing the present results with those available in the literature. Numerical examples indicate that the contact duration is decreased with increasing of graphene volume fraction, whereas the values of peak contact force, shear strain and shear stress at peak contact force tend to be vice versa. Also, among the results, shear stress at the peak contact force has the most effect with graphene volume fraction changes. Originality/value This research fulfils an identified need to investigate how graphene-reinforced beam behavior subjected to low-velocity impact can be enabled.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an applied method to design the low-speed contact between a mass and surface of a beam using an analytical solution based on the first-order shear deformation beam theory. Also, a simulation of impact process is carried out by ABAQUS finite element (FE) code. Design/methodology/approach In theoretical formulation, first strains and stresses are obtained, then kinetic and potential energies are written, and using a combination of Ritz and Lagrange methods, a set of system of motion equations in the form of mass, stiffness and force matrices is obtained. Finally, the motion equations are solved using Runge–Kutta fourth order method. Findings The von Mises stress contours at the impact point and contact force from the ABAQUS simulation are illustrated and it is revealed that the theoretical solution is in good agreement with the FE code. The effect of changes in projectile speed, projectile diameter and projectile mass on the results is carefully examined with particular attention to evaluate histories of the impact force and beam recess. One of the important results is that changes in projectile speed have a greater effect on the results than changes in projectile diameter, and also changes in projectile mass have the least effect. Originality/value This paper presents a combination of methods of energy, Ritz and Lagrange and also FE code to simulate the problem of sandwich beams under low velocity impact.