An experimental and numerical study on the low-velocity impact behavior of polymer matrix Kevlar-Basalt hybrid composites

Composite materials are used widely in military, nuclear, vehicle, and aerospace industries because of the high strength-to-weight ratio. One of the biggest challenges about these materials is the behavior of them under impact or high strain rate loadings. In this research, the effect of the low-velocity impact on the hybrid-laminated Kevlar-Basalt composites is investigated. These composites plates are made by Hand-layup method. The samples made of six type of stacking sequence contains sandwich hybrid, intercalated and not hybrid. All of the samples have 13 layers and same thickness. To apply an impact load to specimens, Drop-weight test setup is used. The experimental tests have been done for 40J applied energy. The aim of this research is to comparison the destruction rate of the different samples and select the best and most resistance one. In addition to experiential testing, all specimens are simulated in finite element software ABAQUS and have been analyzed. At the end, experimental and numerical results are compared. The results show that the composite hybridization has very excellent effect on their impact properties. The absorbed energy of the samples that have hybridized with intercalated configuration is more than other samples.