Impact analysis of sandwich composites based on a refined plate element with strain energy updating

A finite element simulation of impacts on sandwich composites with laminated faces is presented; it is based on a refined multilayered plate model with a high-order zig-zag representation of displacements, which is incorporated through a strain energy updating process. This allows implementation into existing commercial finite elements codes, preserving their program structure. As customary, the Hertzian law and the Newmark implicit time integration scheme are used for solving the contact problem. The contact radius and the force are computed within each time step by an iterative algorithm which forces the impacted top surface to conform, in the least-squares sense, to the shape of the impactor. Nonlinear strains of von Karman type are used. As appearing by the comparison with experimental results, the present model appears able to accurately predict the impact force, the core damage and the damage of face sheets in sandwich composites with foam and or honeycomb core.