Failure Assessment of Layered Composites Subject to Impact Loadings: a Finite Element, Sigma-Point Kalman Filter Approach

Abstract: We present a coupled finite element, Kalman filter approach to foresee impact-induced delamination of layered composites when mechanical properties are partially un-known. Since direct numerical simulations, which require all the constitutive parameters tobe assigned, cannot be run in such cases, an inverse problem is formulated to allow for mod-eling as well as constitutive uncertainties. Upon space discretization through finite elementsand time integration through the explicit fii method, the resulting nonlinear stochastic statemodel, wherein nonlinearities are due to delamination growth, is attacked with sigma-pointKalman filtering. Comparison with experimental data available in the literature and concern-ing inter-laminar failure of layered composites subject to low-velocity impacts, shows that theproposed procedure leads to: an accurate description of the failure mode; converged estimatesof inter-laminar strength and toughness in good agreement with experimental data.Keywords: layered composites; impact-induced delamination; Kalman filter; sigma-pointtransformation1. IntroductionComposite structures are often exposed to impact loadings during their life cycle [1]; this kind ofloading conditions may become a serious issue, since composites can be very sensitive to imperfectionsbeyond a critical threshold load. Depending on the impact energy, i.e. on the momentum of the impactor

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