The Use of LS-DYNA MAT299 for Accurate Prediction of Impact Damage in Composite Structures

Progressive Damage and Failure Analysis (PDFA) methods predict ply-by-ply level damage onset and growth under structural loading. To date, many concerted efforts have been made through industry-government partnerships to mature PDFA capabilities for static and cyclic loading with less attention paid to impact loading. Under the Impact Damage Analysis Tools for Composite Structures (IDAT) through Air Force Research Laboratory, a novel material model, MAT299, was developed by Boeing and LST/ANSYS and implemented as a native material model within the LS-DYNA framework. The material model was fully verified and validated under the program. This paper demonstrates the accurate prediction of impact damage under low velocity impact over a range of impact energies.