Abstract:
Aircraft composite structures are susceptible to low-velocity impact loads during assembly, which can lead to degradation of their mechanical performance. To investigate the influence of interfacial properties on the low-velocity impact behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates, a finite element model incorporating intralaminar progressive damage and interlaminar failure was established and validated against existing experimental results. On this basis, three engineering-representative interfacial property regimes, namely weak interface (WAI), traditional interface (TAI), and strong interface (SAI), were comparatively analyzed. The load–time responses, failure morphologies at peak load, and interfacial damage distributions of laminates with different interfacial properties under low-velocity impact were examined. The results show that enhanced interfacial properties increase the peak impact load of the laminates and significantly suppress the propagation of interlaminar delamination. The weak interface is more prone to extensive interfacial damage, whereas the strong interface effectively reduces the delamination area but leads to localized damage concentration near the impact region. The traditional interface exhibits a better overall balance among load-bearing capacity, rebound characteristics, and damage control. These findings can provide guidance for optimizing interfacial parameters and improving low-velocity impact damage tolerance in CFRP laminates.