Due to the fact that the impact takes place for a very short time, an
implicit code could not be applied. The transient dynamic behavior is
modeled using the explicit dynamic analysis available at the finite
element-based commercial code ANSYS/LS-DYNA, which is an explicit
numerical code, popularly used to analyze a variety of impact
problems [17,18].
The analysis employed a Lagrangian formulation. The momentum
equation is expressed as Eq. (1).
M€U ¼ Fext−Fint ð1Þ
where M is the lumped mass matrix, Ü is the nodal acceleration at
each time step, F ext is the externally applied load at each node, and
F int is the internal force. This set of equations is solved by the central
difference method using an explicit time integration scheme and
employing a lumped mass matrix.
To advance to time tn + 1, central difference time integration is
usually used as follows:
€U ¼ M−1 Fext−Fint
ð2Þ
U
nþ1=2 ¼U
n−1=2 þ €UnΔtn ð3Þ
Unþ1 ¼ Un þU nþ1=2Δtnþ1=2 ð4Þ
where Δtnþ1=2 ¼ ðΔtnþΔtnþ1Þ
2 , and U
and U are the global velocity and
displacement vectors, respectively. Δt is the time step. Increment
number is denoted by superscript (n); n − 1/2 and n + 1/2 refer to
mid-increment before and after step n. Then, update the geometry by
adding the displacement increments to the initial geometry: