A study of the impact performance of fiber reinforced composite laminated plates due to various relative fiber contents and densities

Fiber-reinforced composite laminated plates (FRPs) have many potential appl ications in the area of automotive structural crashworthiness. Among these, an FRP may be used as a side door liner to absorb and dissipate energy dur ing a side impact, thus allowing less door intrusion into the passenger com partment, potentially reducing occupant injury. As a first step in the desi gn of such a plate, the authors have studied the effects of relative fiber content on the impact properties of laminated composite plates with a parti cular emphasis on the damage mode-that is, delamination, matrix cracking, a nd fiber breakage. E-glass fiber/epoxy plates with fiber weight percents ra nging from 50 to 80 percent were studied at impact energies ranging from 5J to 40J.