High Velocity Impact and Blast Loading of Composite Sandwich Panels with Novel Carbon and Glass Construction

Abstract

This research investigates whether the layup order of the carbon-fibre/glass-fibre skins in hybrid composite sandwich panels has an effect on impact response. Composite sandwich panels with carbon-fibre/glass-fibre hybrid skins were subjected to impact at velocities of 75 ± 3 and 90 ± 3 m s −1. Measurements of the sandwich panels were made using high-speed 3D digital image correlation (DIC), and post-impact damage was assessed by sectioning the sandwich panels. It was concluded that the introduction of glass-fibre layers into carbon-fibre laminate skins reduces brittle failure compared to a sandwich panel with carbon-fibre reinforced polymer skins alone. Furthermore, if the impact surface is known, it would be beneficial to select an asymmetrical panel such as Hybrid-(GCFGC) utilising glass-fibre layers in compression and carbon-fibre layers in tension. This hybrid sandwich panel achieves a specific deflection of 0.322 mm kg −1 m 2 and specific strain of 0.077% kg −1 m 2 under an impact velocity of 75 ± 3 m s −1. However, if the impact surface is not known, selection of a panel with a symmetric yet more dispersed hybridisation would be effective. By distributing the different fibre layers more evenly within the skin, less surface and core damage is achieved. The distributed hybrid investigated in this research, Hybrid-(GCGFGCG), achieved a specific deflection of 0.394 mm kg −1 m 2 and specific strain of 0.085% kg −1 m 2 under an impact velocity of 75 ± 3 m s −1. Blast loading was performed on a large scale version of Hybrid-(GCFGC) and it exhibited a maximum deflection of 75 mm following a similar deflection profile to those observed for the impact experiments.

Blast resilience of composite sandwich panels with hybrid glass-fibre and carbon-fibre skins

“…Under previous small-scale impact, these hybrids have been shown to exhibit different deflections and strains (Rolfe et al 2018). This is because under the impact experiment, the panels experience a localised load at a higher velocity.…”

Study on impact behavior of glass fiber/PVC curved sandwich structure composites

“…Sandwich structure composites can not only reduce the production cost, but also maximize the excellent properties of materials. [ 1,2 ] The yurt is a living place with national character that has been handed down for a long time by ancient nomads to adapt to the life of “moving by water and grass.” The traditional yurt is made of willow, and the curved dome has limited bearing capacity and is bulky in extreme weather. E‐glass/epoxy composites are easy to be damaged when subjected to a small amount of impact, and the damage results are more obvious in extreme environment.…”

Effect of fiber orientation and loading direction on the compressive response of E-glass/Epoxy laminated composites used in modern helicopter blades submitted to high strain rate

“…They emphasized that the in-plane loading condition is weaker than the out-of plane loading condition and the strain rate is the factor determining the dynamic properties. As can be seen from the available literature, there are studies in which glass fibre composites [18][19][20][21][22] but, there are few studies focused on production and practice related to the high-speed impact of modern helicopter blades using SHPB) device and LS-DYNA® program. This paper concerns the in-plane and out-of-plane dynamic impact of glass fibre laminated composites.…”