3D digital image correlation analysis of medium velocity soft impacts on laminated composite

In aerospace acamedic and industrial world, soft impacts are commonly used to replace bird strike tests for the validation of materials and structures as well as the calibration of numerical models. However in general, the analysis reported show only a few part of the experimental information available. In this paper, three laminate composites made of epoxy resin reinforced by glass or carbon fibres are tested under gelatin impact at several velocities up to complete failure. A detailed analysis based on 3D Digital Image Correlation (3D DIC) and visual inspection of the three laminates is provided for a total of 21 tests with impact velocities in the range 60–112 m/s. DIC extraction provides accurate quantitative displacement fields of the rear face in both time and space. Moreover, specific failure scenarios are identified for each laminate. The results obtained provide a suitable database for the development of numerical models. In addition, all experimental data from DIC extractions are opened to the readers on the Recherche Data Gouv website for comparisons with their own tests or numerical models.