Fluid-structure interaction of metallic and composite plates subjected to dynamic loading

Hampson, PR

Abstract

An important consideration when designing structures from composite materials is their
susceptibility to impact damage. Even under relatively low velocity impact, composites
are vulnerable to internal damage caused by transverse loads, but unlike metallic
structures, material damage can be hidden within the material and show no form of
external damage. In some cases, barely visible impact damage (BVID) may occur, which
even if detected by visual inspection would give no true indication to the severity of the
internal material degradation. Since many composites are being utilised in high
performance applications, it is important that the response of composites under impact
loading is fully understood.
This research examines the transient dynamic response of metallic and composite plates
subjected to low velocity impact loading for conditions in both air and underwater by
conducting a series of experiments and non-linear numerical analysis using the finite
element technique. To verify the accuracy of this method for investigating impact
problems, several numerical validation studies have been conducted using published
results.
An instrumented low velocity impact rig was used to acquire experimental data for
impacts in air and underwater for both aluminium and composite plates. Experimental results were compared with numerical and theoretical solutions and found to be in good
agreement.
For underwater impact, the numerical modelling incorporated the use of Arbitrary
Lagrange Euler (ALE) methodology, therefore, analysing the problem with coupled fluidstructure
interaction. The effect of the water surrounding the target plates was found to
reduce the peak accelerations and also reduce the overall impact duration. X-Ray
imagery of the composite plates also showed visibly reduced damage for the submerged
test specimens.
This research provides data on the impact response of metallic and composite materials,
and validates numerical methodologies for use in future work on fluid-structure
interactions which show strong potential for relevant industrial applications.

Citation

Hampson, P. Fluid-structure interaction of metallic and composite plates subjected to dynamic loading. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 18, 2021
• Award Date: Oct 1, 2008