Polymer matrix woven fabric composites subjected to low velocity impact: Part II - Effect of plate thickness

The studies have been carried out on the damage initiation behavior of polymer matrix woven fabric (WF) composite plates subjected to a transverse central low velocity point impact load. Specifically, the effect of composite plate thickness on the impact behavior has been investigated with a square plate of 150 mm x 150 mm with thicknesses varying from 4.5 mm to 8.0 mill. The material systems considered are: E-glass/epoxy and T300/5208 carbon/epoxy. Inplane failure of the layers in the form of matrix cracking/lamina splitting and delaminations were the primary objectives of the study. The studies have been carried out using an inhouse Finite Element Analysis (FEA) code. The inplane failure functions and the interlaminar failure functions have been predicted using quadratic failure criteria. General observations on the impact behavior of polymer matrix WF composites as a function of plate thickness have been presented.