Numerical simulation of hypervelocity impacts of a projectile on laminated composite plate targets by means of improved SPH method

This paper is concerned with the numerical simulation of hypervelocity impacts (HVIs) of a projectile on laminated composite plate targets. When the numerical simulation of HVIs is performed by means of a conventional smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method, loss of interactions among particles causes numerical fractures. To prevent the numerical fractures, the improved SPH method with new particle generation and particle merger techniques is used. For the laminated composite plate targets of weak delamination strength, a numerical laminated plate model for the SPH method is proposed to realize the discontinuity of stresses between neighboring layers of the laminated composite plate targets. The numerical simulation was carried out for an aluminum projectile striking to laminated graphite/epoxy (Gr/Ep) composite plate targets with several different layup configurations. Through the numerical simulation, the HVI responses of the projectile on the laminated composite plate targets are discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.