Failure mechanism of carbon/ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene twill fiber reinforced hybrid laminates under ballistic impact

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) have been widely used in recent years for their high specific strength and stiffness. However, due to the high brittleness and low elongation, its application in protection engineering was limited. The introduction of other ductile fibers can ameliorate this shortcoming. In this paper, laminated construction and failure mechanism of twill carbon fiber and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber hybrid composite laminates under ballistic impact were comprehensively studied. Three different interface properties were characterized by peeling test. The simulation results were in good agreement with the ballistic impact experimental results. The sample of 4C4P with carbon fiber in the front and UHMWPE fiber in the back shows the best impact energy absorption performance,with the specific energy absorption increased by 92.22%. Based on the computed tomography (CT) scanning, delamination damage cloud images of the composite laminates were presented for the first time. The improvement of interlayer fracture toughness can enhance the impact resistance of laminates, which mainly depending on the stacking sequence and interface properties. It provided a new idea for the study of impact damage of laminated structures.

Keywords

• Composite laminate
• Ballistic impact
• Hybrid fiber
• Energy absorption mechanism
• Delamination failure