Numerical Simulation of Damages in FRP Laminated Structures Under Transverse Quasi-Static or Low-Velocity Impact Loads

This chapter addresses the numerical modelling and simulations of the occurrence and propagation of damages in fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) laminated structures under transverse quasi‐static or low‐velocity impact loadings. The focus of the chapter is on the key issue of numerical modelling of delamination using cohesive elements, which is a conventional difficulty due to numerical instability in the simulation process. To overcome this numerical instability, several recent achievements of effective numerical approaches are proposed and reported here. The chapter describes three kinds of techniques to improve the stability and accuracy and to decrease the computational cost of the traditional cohesive model. These techniques include: (i) artificial damping technique for the explicit time integration scheme, (ii) move‐limit technique, and (iii) a new adaptive cohesive model and its extension into rate‐dependent problems. A low‐velocity impact example is used to show the effectiveness of the adaptive cohesive model.