The design of stacking sequences for an improved damage resistance and damage tolerance for
low velocity impact events has received a special attention from industries as well as academic
research. A rational design with dispersed ply orientations is seen as a promising solution to the
problem. This paper presents a new philosophy for the design of a non-conventional laminate
with improved mechanical performance against impact events. The laminate is designed such
that the plies at and near the top and bottom surfaces of the laminate absorb most of the impact
energy and that the middle plies are left undamaged in order to carry the compressive load after
impact. The results enable us to propose four non-conventional stacking sequences satisfying
the constraints imposed by the conventional laminate that will be used as the baseline material
in our experimental study
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