Methodology for assessing impact damage using integrated simulation and experimentation

The investigation of damage induced by dynamic events is since many years of central interest especially to increase safety and security of all means of transportation. The use of integrated full-field optical methods and FEM analysis gives good results in investigating damage produced after impact. In this paper a methodology for assessing impact damage using both simulation and experimentation will be presented. The methodology considers the effect of the defect presence on different parameters (e. g. geometrical parameters, strain field, dynamic parameters). Although a number of possible approaches in providing FEM and measurement results are being investigated, a general procedure to compare the data has been identified and includes the possibility of using reduced or decomposed data for the comparison of results from experimentation and simulation.