Impactor Diameter and Ply Number Effects on the Impact Behavior of Carbon Fiber Composite Laminates

Abstract

As it is known, impact damage is a major mechanical phenomena for composite materials especially used in the aerospace structures. The factors affecting the impact behaviour of the composites depend on the impactor systems as well as the target material. In this study ply number and impactor geometry effects of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites were investigated by impact tests. In this context, drop weight impact tests were carried out at 6J, 12J and 24J energy levels by using hemispherical impactors with 10 mm and 20 mm diameters. Laminated composites were manufactured in 6, 10 and 14 plies with vacuum infusion method. The effects of laminate thickness, impactor diameter and impact energy effects on the force, velocity, absorbed energy and damage surfaces were investigated. It is observed that impactor geometries and velocities caused the different damage mechanisms in composites and impactors played an important role in determining the penetration and perforation behaviours of composites.