EXPERIMENTAL-MEASUREMENT OF IMPACT RESPONSE IN CARBON EPOXY PLATES

The response of carbon/epoxy laminates to transverse impact is of considerable importance due to the susceptibility of these materials to delamination and fiber breakage under impact loading. Experiments and simple analytical approaches are desired for understanding the behavior during impact. In the present study, emphasis was placed on establishing scaling rules for relating laboratory-scale experiments to impacts on larger structures. The scaling rules were first derived from the governing differential equations of the linear impact response problem. Impact experiments were then carried out on AS4/3501-6 carbon/epoxy plates with the plate dimensions, projectile dimensions, and impact parameters all varied according to the scaling rules. The results were found to follow the scaling rules quite closely. A dynamic model of laminates subjected to impact was developed by using a Rayleigh-Ritz procedure. The predicted strain response agreed very well with the measured response, and supported the conclusions of the experiments regarding scaling rules. © 1990 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., All rights reserved.