Damage evolution of sandwich composite structure using a progressive failure analysis methodology

Damage evolution in composite sandwich panels under quasi–static impact is investigated by using a progressive failure analysis methodology. Several failure criteria, e.g. Hashin's and Besant's criteria, are used for different failure mechanisms such as fiber breakage, matrix or core cracking, and interfacial delamination in the impacted face sheet. Material degradation is achieved through a set of degradation factors for different failure modes. Three dimensional honeycomb sandwich panels are analyzed by using commercial finite element code, ABAQUS, incorporating different failure criteria user–defined material model. Comparisons of the numerical results and experimental data for maximum contact force and delamination area are presented. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of ICM1