Energy absorption of repaired composite laminates subjected to impact loading

Abstract

The utility of composite materials has significantly increased in various industries, especially in aerospace industry, because of their excellent properties. Repair or reinforcement of damaged part of the structure is essential to improve its service life. In this work, the damaged area of the glass/epoxy composite is machined as elliptical steps in each layer for patch layer bonding. For 'n' layer laminates, 'n + 1' patch layers are bonded in the machined steps and free surface of the laminates. It is necessary to understand the impact resistance of composite laminates that are used in aerospace and automotive industry. The repaired composite laminates are subjected to projectile impact by a gas gun above ballistic velocity at different locations from centre of the patch. The energy absorption and impact damage of the repaired laminates are analyzed. Numerical simulations are also carried out to find out energy absorbing capability of the repaired composite laminates. The experimental results are compared with numerical results for validation. � 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.