Progressive damage analysis of GLARE laminates under low-velocity impact: numerical simulations and experimental validations

Abstract

Fiber metal laminate (FML), particularly glass laminate aluminum reinforced epoxy (GLARE), is a fundamental advanced material in aerospace industries, due to its exceptional fatigue resistance, strength to weight ratio, and impact energy absorption. The GLARE laminates are frequently subjected to low-velocity impact (LVI), therefore predicting their damage behavior is strongly needed for designing safe and sound structural panels. This paper investigates damage prediction of the GLARE in the LVI by employing a novel numerical approach that utilizes a hybrid damage model consists of the Johnson–Cook damage criterion for the aluminum layers and the Hashin–Puck damage model for the composite plies. Furthermore, the interlaminar delamination, which is often ignored, is carefully modeled through the cohesive zone framework. The constitutive equations are implemented via a user-defined VUMAT subroutine, enabling detailed simulation of the GLARE laminate response under the LVI. The numerical model is fully validated by experimental data, demonstrating a satisfactory agreement and confirming its predictive capabilities. Additionally, the influence of critical design and operational parameters including the role of interlaminar damage on overall structural integrity as well as the impact energy and the GLARE layup configurations are completely studied. The finding results offer valuable insight into the damage mechanisms of the GLARE laminates under the LVI and can be surely applied for optimizing the impact resistant aerospace structures. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025.