Modelling of impact damage and permanent indentation on laminate composite plate

This paper deals with impact damage and permanent indentation modelling. A model enabling the formation of damages developing during a low velocity / low energy impact test on laminate composite panels has been elaborated. The different impact damages developing during an impact test, i.e. matrix cracking, fibres failure and interfaces delamination, are simulated. The interlaminar damages, i.e. interfaces delamination, are classically simulated thanks to interface finite elements based on the fracture mechanics. The particularity of this model is to account for the intralaminar damages, i.e. matrix cracks, thanks to interface finite elements which respect their discontinue character. These interface elements allow equally to simulate the permanent indentation during the impact unloading. This impact mark modelling is very original in the literature, and should allow to entirely design a composite structure thanks to impact damage tolerance.