THE INFLUENCE OF IMPACTOR SHAPE ON THE DAMAGE TO COMPOSITE LAMINATES

摘要

The post-impact damage properties of composite laminates impacted by various impactor shapes are investigated herein. This investigation is a continuation of the research conducted in [1]. The effect of impactor shape under low-velocity conditions has been largely neglected since the use of hemispherical impactors has been predominantly investigated in past research. After impacting thin woven carbon/epoxy laminates using hemispherical, ogival and conical steel impactors all 12 mm in diameter using a drop weight test rig [1], various post-impact analysis techniques have been employed, such as nondestructive inspection (NDI) and microscopy to assess the effect of impactor shape on the resulting damage. The blunter hemispherical impactor produced the largest damage area dominated by delamination. The rather sharp conical impactor produced the most fibre breakage which resulted in a localised damage area and the largest indentation/penetration depth.