Transient response of a composite beam subject to elasto-plastic impact

Abstract

An elastic-plastic contact law that includes the effect of permanent deformation in the contact zone is used to study the transient response of a composite beam subject to impact. The governing differential equations are normalized to yield four nondimensional parameters which completely describe the impact event. A modal analysis procedure is used to spatially discretize the normalized boundary value problem to obtain a set of ordinary differential equations which are integrated numerically. Simulation results show that the local permanent deformations significantly affect the impact response. This indicates the importance of using an adequate contact law for an accurate prediction of the impact forces and strains during impact of composite structures.