  Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites offer a unique combination
of in-plane specific strength and stiffness. They, however, suffer from a
relatively poor out-of plane performance. Improving this requires a thorough
understanding of their behavior to out-of-plane loadings such as impact. Their
impact response is very complex in nature due to their strain-rate dependent
properties, progressive damage during impact, and their many failure modes such
as delamination, fiber or matrix failure, and fiber crush. In this work,
response of plain woven CFRP laminates are studied via experiments and
numerical simulations using the finite element package LS-DYNA. Quasi-static
and dynamic tests were conducted to provide the materials parameters for the
material model; MAT162. Once the simulations were validated, the response of
the CFRP to impact was investigated in terms of different material properties,
energy absorption, and damage modes. Based on these results strategies are
suggested to improve the behavior of CFRPs under impact loadings.
