Evaluations of Shell and Solid Formulations for Progressive Damage and Impact Analysis Methods in Low Velocity Impact Applications

Abstract

Progressive Damage and Failure Analysis (PDFA) has been shown to effectively predict damage initiation and propagation of composite materials at the lamina length scale when subjected to various forms of structural loading. The MAT299 composite damage model was developed by Boeing and LST/ANSYS and implemented as a native capability within the LS-DYNA explicit FEA suite under the Impact Damage Analysis Tools for Composite Structures (IDAT) program through the Air Force Research Laboratory in 2020. The material model was thoroughly verified and validated for low velocity impact events under the IDAT program using high fidelity ply-by-ply models. This work addresses the scalability of the MAT299 material model by investigating the effectiveness of thick shell elements implemented in an equivalent single layer scheme for low velocity impact of composite structures. Demonstrating the predictive capability of MAT299 with the thick shell implementation is a significant step toward applying PDFA methods at structurally relevant length scales.