Response of GLARE fiber–metal laminates under radial in-plane preloading and lateral indentation

This article deals with the static response of thin circular clamped GLAss REinforced (GLARE) fiber–metal laminates subjected to radial in-plane tensile preloading and lateral indentation by a hemispherical indentor simultaneously. The response is initially predicted using ANSYS software and nonlinear analysis. From this analysis, the load-indentation and strain energy-indentation curves are calculated. Regression of the obtained Finite Element Method (FEM) results, using specific load-indentation relation, reveals that the response of the GLARE plates can be predicted with this relation. It also reveals how preloading alters the load-indentation relation of the GLARE plates. Then, analytical formulas are derived to predict the GLARE plate indentation load and strain energy as a function of central plate deflection and the magnitude of preloading. The derived analytical formulas are applied successfully for preloaded GLARE 2-2/1-0.3, GLARE 3-3/2-0.4 and GLARE 3-3/2-0.3 circular plates with various diameters. The analytically predicted load-indentation and strain energy-indentation curves are compared with corresponding FEM results and a very good agreement is found.