Numerical simulation investigation of split element modeling with variation impactor diameter effect on low-velocity impact response of unidirectional CFRP

Composite material is widely used because of the advantages of strength-to-weight ratio, high stiffness, resistance to fatigue, and ease of shape in manufacturing. It is widely applied in various industries, especially the aerospace industry. In the advantages of composite materials, there are also limitations, such as the resistance of composites to out-of-plane impact loads. This load can lead to microdamage and may develop to cause catastrophic failure. This research will perform a modeling study of composite failure due to low-speed impact load. The use of split elements is performed in the model to provide a more accurate representation of the delamination failure as well as the dynamic response of the composite plate to the experimental results. This modeling is focused on determining the effect of split elements on the variable impact energy variation and impactor diameter. The results of this study indicate that split elements can improve the low velocity impact simulation model of composite plates by providing dynamic responses and delamination failures that are more in line with experimental results than without split elements. In the future, studies related to the number of split elements and the distance between split elements to the model need to be studied to determine the effect to provide better model flexibility.