Numerical modelling of impact damage on carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates

In recent years, the usage of carbon fiber reinforced polymers in the aviation industry has increased significantly. While numerous advancements have been made in the field of testing and analysis of advanced composites, improvements can still be made in terms of time and cost. This thesis is focused on numerical modelling of nonlinear three-dimensional transient-dynamic impact damage, and also assesses various numerical techniques for reducing computational costs while maintaining the accuracy of results under impact loadings. This thesis does so using three studies and the computational package LS-DYNA. The first study is performed to elucidate the behaviour of a stiffened thin-walled fuselage section subjected to low-velocity, high-energy blunt impact. The fuselage section is comprised of thin skin panels, stringers, frames and shear ties, all of which are modelled as multidirectional carbon fiber laminates. The critical locations during the impact, the failure sequence, and the failure loads, locations and times are all identified. The obtained numerical results are compared to experimental results on low-velocity impacts on composite