Multiscale Stochastic Investigation of Low-velocity Impact Behaviour of Hybrid Composite Laminates
A. Cinemawala, P. K. Karsh, V. Dave, A. Alok, J. K. Prusty, B. Mondal
Quarterly No. 2, 2026 pages 123-132
DOI: https://doi.org/10.62753/ctp.2026.03.2.2
keywords: hybrid composite material, Hertzian contact model, Newmark time integration method, stochastic impact analysis, low-velocity impact analysis
abstract This study investigates the probabilistic low-velocity impact behaviour of a hybrid composite plate composed of nitinol-based smart materials and a glass-epoxy composite. A multiscale framework was created by combining micromechanics and macromechanics models. At the micromechanics level, the effective material properties were derived from the different phases (nitinol fibers, glass fibers, and epoxy matrix) by means of homogenization schemes, which reflect the local stress and strain behaviour. At the macromechanics level, laminate theory and finite element methods were used to model the overall structural response under impact loading. A comparative analysis between micromechanics- and macromechanics-based results was performed to check the consistency, accuracy and computational efficiency of the two methods. The impact force and other related parameters were determined from a modified Hertzian contact model and the governing time dependent differential equations were numerically integrated utilising the Newmark method. Variability in the material and the geometric properties were handled with the help of a Monte Carlo simulation. Parametric analyses were performed to investigate the influence of the impactor mass, impact velocity and impact angle on the hybrid plate response. The results revealed that while both models capture the overall stochastic impact behaviour, micromechanics provides greater accuracy in reflecting local damage initiation, whereas macromechanics offers computational efficiency for global response prediction.