The effect of angle of incidence on the impact response of composites and sandwich structures

S. H. Sheikh, W. J. Cantwell

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper presents a study on the low-velocity impact response of glass-fibre reinforced epoxy laminates and sandwich foam structures at three impact angles including 0°, 10° and 20° over a range of impact energies. Also, based on the conservation of energy, predictions of the maximum contact force at varying impact angles were carried out using an energybalance model. An effect of varying the angle of obliquity is that damage initiation differs for the GFRP laminate structures at different impact angles. In terms of the damage pattern, oblique impact resulted in a more elliptical shape of damage, particularly for the samples impacted at 20°, in comparison to the typical oblong or "peanut" shape damage mode induced at normal impact angles. Overall, normal impact loading resulted in more severe forms of damage in the glass-fibre reinforced epoxy laminate as well as in the sandwich foam structures. In addition, using an energy balance model for a circular plate, there is a good agreement between the predicted maximum contact force and the experimental findings for both the composites and the sandwich structures. This indicates that it is possible to predict the maximum contact force of laminates as well as sandwich foam structures at oblique angles.

Original languageBritish English
Title of host publicationECCM 2012 - Composites at Venice, Proceedings of the 15th European Conference on Composite Materials
StatePublished - 2012
Event15th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites at Venice, ECCM 2012 - Venice, Italy
Duration: 24 Jun 201228 Jun 2012

Publication series

NameECCM 2012 - Composites at Venice, Proceedings of the 15th European Conference on Composite Materials

Conference

Conference15th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites at Venice, ECCM 2012
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityVenice
Period24/06/1228/06/12

Keywords

  • Damage characteristics
  • Fibre-reinforced composites
  • Impact response
  • Oblique impact
  • Sandwich foam structures

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