Impact Test-Correlation Best Practices
Best practices for correlating impact FEA models with physical test data — what to measure, what to compare and how to assess agreement.
Key practices
- Measure impact velocity, residual velocity, deformation and damage pattern
- Replicate test conditions exactly in FEA
- Compare quantitatively, not just visually
- Account for test and analysis uncertainty in the comparison
- If prediction and test disagree, investigate material model, mesh and failure criterion
- Document the correlation with quantitative comparison