Mechanical Behaviors and Damage Mechanisms of Hybrid Laminates Under Low Velocity Impact and Compression After Impact Loading

ABSTRACT Numerical research on low velocity impact (LVI) and compression after impact (CAI) responses of hybrid laminates where thick plies are mixed with thin plies at the ply level is limited, despite the widespread use of laminated composites in aircraft. This study aims to develop finite element (FE) models to simulate the LVI and CAI mechanical responses and damage behaviors of both thick‐ply and hybrid laminates without altering the intrinsic lamina and interface properties. The proposed FE models were validated by experimental data, showing good agreement in both impact and post‐impact responses. Results indicate that the inclusion of thin plies in hybrid laminates effectively suppresses matrix cracking and delamination propagation. Consequently, hybrid laminates exhibit a narrower region for matrix and delamination damages in the early stage, retaining larger residual thickness and indicating higher impact damage resistance compared with thick‐ply laminates. Under CAI loading, hybrid laminates exhibit a shorter delamination propagation distance along the width direction before the onset of global buckling compared with the thick‐ply laminate. This study demonstrates the feasibility of accurately predicting the dynamic responses and damage behaviors of thick‐ply and hybrid laminates using the same lamina and interface properties.