Experimental characterization and computational simulations of the low-velocity impact behaviour of polypropylene

JUAN P TORRES; PATRICIA M FRONTINI; LAURENTZI ARETXABALETA

POLYMER INTERNATIONAL

JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD

Lugar: LOndres ; Año: 2013 vol. 62 p. 1553 - 1559

0959-8103

The objective of this work is to validate predictive models for the simulation of the mechanical response of polypropylene undergoing impact situations. The transferability of material parameters deduced from a particular loading scenario (uniaxial loading) to adifferent loading situation (multiaxial loading) was studied. The material was modelled with a modified viscoplastic phenomenologicalmodelbasedontheG?Sell?Jonasequation.Toperformthenumericalsimulations,auser-material subroutine (VUMAT)was implemented in the ABAQUS/explicit finite element code. Constitutive parameters for the modelwere determined fromisostrain rate uniaxial tensile impact test data usinganinverse calibration technique. Inaddition, falling-weight low-energy impact tests were performed on disc-shaped specimens at velocities in the range 0.7 to 3.13ms−1. The model predictions were evaluated by comparison of the experimental and finite element response of the falling-weight impact tests. The G?Sell?Jonas model showed much better predictability than classical elastoplasticity models. It also showed excellent agreement with experimental curves, provided stress-whitening damage observed experimentally was accounted for in the model using an element failure criterion.