Abstract
This paper deals with the identification of multiple impact forces acting on FRP pressure vessels. The information to be identified are the locations and histories of the impact forces. In a previous paper (Journal of the Japan Society for Composite Meterials, Vol. 35, No. 3 (2009), pp. 106-111), multiple impact forces acting on a CFRP stiffened panel were experimentally identified by a method based on experimental transfer matrices which relate the impact forces and the responses of strain gauges. In the present paper, the identification method is applied to shell structures, i.e. FRP pressure vessels, and the effectiveness of the method is experimentally investigated. First, the validity of the experimental identification method is examined by identifying a single impact force. Then, the identification of multiple impact forces is performed. Here, the number of impact forces is set to two, and the impact forces are applied with impulse hammers of different impact tips in order to examine the effect of the impactor stiffness on the identification results. The results reveal the validity of the experimental identification method for shell structures. The identified locations and force histories are in good agreement with the measured ones, irrespective of the number of impact forces and the stiffness of the impactor.
