Impact damage and residual strengths of woven fabric glass/polyester laminates

Thick glass/polyester laminates of four different dimensions subject to low-velocity impact have been investigated using a guided drop-weight test rig with a flat-ended impactor in ascending energy order up to 3100 J. The characteristics of impact response and energy absorption have been determined by impact force and absorbed energy histories, and impact damage incurred was examined by cross-sectioning and ultrasonic C-scanning. Residual compressive strengths were measured, and the damage tolerance of the laminates was assessed by the retaining ability of these strengths. It is found that the salient features in force-time history curves can be related to fracture processes occurring in the laminates, and that the established relationships between impact force and incident kinetic energy (IKE) can be used to identify damage initiation without examining impacted specimens, which is later confirmed by the damage force maps. The constructed damage force and energy maps have shown not only damage initiation in an unstable fashion but also increase of damage size with IKE and force until reaching their load-bearing capabilities. Residual compressive strengths are reduced very rapidly with the increase of impact damage due to extensive delamination. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited