Abstract Purpose – This article focuses on the low-velocity impact (LVI) output of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)’ reinforcement circular plates, considering agglomeration size effect and clumping of CNTs’ inner side of the agglomerations. Design/methodology/approach – A representative volume element (RVE) is used to determine the nanocomposite properties reinforced with agglomerated CNTs with random orientation. First-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is used to obtain the motion equations of LVI analysis. These equations are handled by developing a Ritz method and Lagrangian mechanics. To extract the mass and stiffness matrices, terms with second and higher degrees are ignored. Findings – Formulation validation is performed by providing various examples, including comparisons with other research and ABAQUS FE code. The effects of agglomeration size, clumping of CNTs’ inner side of the agglomerations, CNT volume fraction and impact location on the responses of impact load, projectile displacement and plate deflection are analytically studied. These achievements illuminate how the influence of agglomeration size is very small on the impact response. Also, the influence of clumping of CNTs’ inner side of the agglomerations is significant, and as it increases, the displacement values and impact time increase, and the impact force decreases. Originality/value – In this article, to avoid additional calculations, the parameters of the mass matrix and the stiffness coefficients are linearized to obtain the equations of motion of the impact on the circular plate.
