Impact Damage Prediction of Carbon Fiber Foam Sandwich Structure Based on the Hashin Failure Criterion

In the process of use and manufacture, carbon fiber foam sandwich structures were often damaged by low-energy impact, resulting in performance degradation. Therefore, it was necessary to study the damage caused by the low-speed impact of composite sandwich structures. Based on the Hashin failure criterion, this paper established an equivalent finite element model of carbon fiber foam sandwich panels under low-velocity impact. The model was used to simulate the damage of the foam sandwich panel with [±45°/±45°/(core)/±45°/±45°] ply structure under the impact energy of 10.58, 21.17, 31.75, and 42.34 J. The simulation results of impact damage depth were compared with the experimental results. The error was less than 10%, which proved the rationality of the impact equivalent model. The model was used to predict and analyze the damage of foam sandwich panels with [±45°/(core)/±45°], [±45°/ (0°, 90°)/(core)/±45°], and [±45°/(0°, 90°)(core)/(0°, 90°)/±45°] ply structures under 21.17J impact energy. The low energy impact resistance was analyzed by comparing and analyzing the damage situation, impact force response time, and impact velocity response time. The results showed that increasing the number of ply layers [±45°] can reduce the impact damage degree and improve the bearing capacity of sandwich panels.