Low-speed impact behavior of two-layer similar and dissimilar metal laminate structures

Mechanical behavior of two-layer metal laminate structures under low-speed impact loading was investigated experimentally and numerically. The experimental results were just used for validation of numerical results. Then numerical modeling was used to study the behavior of metal laminates in details. The mechanical behavior of the metal laminate structures under impact loading was found to be dependent on the material substance of the layers. The metal layers were made of four common materials used in the industry. Results showed that the maximum amount of contact force and minimum amount of contact duration for the metal laminate structures with similar metal layers were obtained when the layers were made of steel. Whereas, the maximum amount of displacement and dissipated energy were achieved for the structure with lead layers. For the structures in which the first metal layer was Al-6061T6, the maximum contact force obtained when the second metal layer was made of steel; and the maximum displacement occurred when the second metal layer was made of lead. It was found that the maximum mean amount of contact force belonged to the structures with first metal layer of steel and the maximum mean amount of displacement belonged to the structures with the first metal layer of lead. The finite element analysis results were in good agreement with the experimental results and also with the other researcher’s results.