A Numerical study of failure modes of a composite plate subjected to hail ice impact

Numerical investigation of failure modes of composite plates subjected to the hail ice impact presented in this paper. Compare to rain and snow, hail is known as a serious threat to the aircraft exterior structure and engine due to its high density. First, numerical simulation of composite plate subjected to a rigid projectile impact is conducted using commercial finite element software, LS-DYNA and validated with previous investigations. After validation, a numerical study is performed for a composite plate subjected to the hail impact and the effect of stacking sequences of composite plate, velocity and shape of projectile are investigated. Results show, for identical mass and velocity, only the matrix extensional mode occurs in hail impact while for the rigid impact all failure modes are observed. Also, increased fiber angle produced higher damage threshold velocity in ice impact. Highest and lowest damage showed for ±15° and ±45° orientations. Moreover, it has been observed that more layers damaged with larger velocity ice impact. Result illustrate that the cylindrical shape hail caused more damage compared with hemispherical shape.