The influence of varying projectile mass on the impact response of CFRP

A series of low and high velocity impact tests have been undertaken on a number of CFRP laminates in order to assess the influence of the projectile mass upon the impact response and subsequent load-bearing capability of a composite structure. Information yielded by C-scans and optical micrographs indicated that, for a given impact energy, decreasing the impactor mass resulted in greater levels of incurred damage and, therefore, poorer post-impact properties. It is believed that light, fast-moving projectiles induce a very localised form of target response in which most of the incident energy of the projectile is dissipated immediately adjacent to the point of impact, essentially in shearing the fibres.