Initiation and Growth of Delamination in Composite Integral Armor

Plane strain finite element analysis (FEA) is performed to investigate the initiation and growth of delamination in composite integral armor (CIA). The geometry and material properties of individual layers are key parameters, which are tested against three different durations of impact. Explicit dynamic FEA code LS-DYNA is used to study plane-strain stress wave propagation through the thickness (T-T) in armor. T-T stress states are presented in the time-space domain to explain time and location of failure/damage mechanism such as delamination.