Numerical study of high-velocity impact on aeronautic carbon composites

This paper presents research concerning the numerical analysis of two new carbon composite materials subjected to high-velocity impact. These new composites were produced using new out-of-autoclave processes, making them more environmentally friendly. An experimental campaign was conducted on these materials in order to determine the effects of a metal sphere during impact. A numerical model using ABAQUS explicit is assembled using shell finite element models, and a non-linear dynamic analysis is applied. For the constitutive relation of the material, a fiber-reinforced composite damage model from the ABAQUS library is used. This initial numerical model is then compared with the outputs of the experimental campaign in order to validated it. Next, a numerical campaign is performed to understand carbon composites response to the impact of a hailstorm strike, in which it is possible to verify that one of the specimens presented higher performance, by displaying less penetration and damaged area.