Fiber Metal Laminates under Low Velocity Impact: An Experimental / Analytical Approach

Fiber/ metal laminates (FMLs) are hybrid composites consisting of alternating thin layers of metal sheets and fiber reinforced epoxy laminates. In this study, the effect of fiber orientation on impact properties of FML plates is investigated both analytically and experimentally. Two groups of specimens were prepared and tested in two different levels of impactor energy. The indentation depth and damage size after impact is measured and delamination area is specified for each specimen. Increasing impactor energy causes more fractured layers, more debonding and delaminations area but the trend was similar to lower level energy. The analysis was based on a method of minimum total potential energy and the von Karman strain displacement equations. Good agreement is obtained between the model predictions and experimental results