Impact performance of macrocomposite laminates - 1. Evaluation of energy absorbed in non-penetration impact test

Cladding of dissimilar materials is one of the several methods for improvin g the mechanical properties of composite materials. In this investigation, low impact energy test (non-penetration test) was carried out on GFRP/metal composites. The behavior at three energy levels (4, 8, and 12 J) was studi ed. The samples were divided into three types: Type 1 consisting of CFRP, T ype 2 is GFRP with stainless steel (not bonded) and Type 3 as GFRP bonded t o stainless steel. The GFRP contains chopped strand mat (CSM), biaxial syst em (BX) and quasiaxial system (QX). Both force at the initial peak (F-i) an d maximum force (F-max) increased due to the presence of stainless steel in the composite. However, F-max increases with respect to impact energy whil st F-i was independent of impact energy. A slight improvement on the energy absorption of GFRP layer in the macrocomposite system was achieved at all energy levels except for CSM-GFRP which shows a significant brittle failure .